Scientists warn: UK’s new COVID-19 variant found in Nigeria
Scientists at the Redeemer’s University, Nigeria, say they have found the United Kingdom’s ‘lineage B.1.1.7,’ a mutant variant of the COVID-19 global pandemic, in Nigeria.
They reported that the ‘lineage B.1.1.7’ mutant variant of the coronavirus had been existing in Osun State since August 3, 2020, when they obtained the first sample.
They also reported the collection of another sample from the state in October, and it also showed the presence of this new variant.
The ‘lineage B.1.1.7’ variant of COVID-19 has recently become a source of concern in the United Kingdom, leading to another round of lockdown, PUNCH Health Wise reports.
The RUN study, first published last September 6 in The Conversation, a copyright-free news channel, stated that genome sequencing helped researchers to understand the virus, its epidemiology and evolution.
More recently, the finding was also published online in peer-reviewed Journal of Virological Methods on Monday, December 21, and titled, ‘Detection of the New Emergent SARS-CoV-2 Variant in Nigeria.
Two scientists at Ede, Osun State-based RUN — Professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics, Christian Happi; and Ify Aniebo — carried out the study. Punch
