You can now follow the latest news for free through the Telegram app
Click here to subscribe
—
Geneva: The World Health Organization announced, on Wednesday, that the British version of the mutated virus, the emerging corona virus, has so far been detected in at least 60 countries, which is ten more countries than it was a week ago.
The organization said in its weekly newsletter on the epidemic situation that the second mutated version that appeared for the first time in South Africa and is believed to be more contagious than the British version has been detected on its part in 23 countries and regions to date, an increase of three from the number recorded on January 12.
She indicated that she is monitoring the spread of two other species that appeared in Brazil, namely “B1”, which was detected in the state of Amazonas and was also discovered in Japan in four people coming from Brazil and another mutant.
“Currently, there is little information available to know if the susceptibility of the virus to spread and its severity have changed in these mutated forms,” she added. But it indicated that its genetic characteristics similar to the mutated viruses in Britain and South Africa required further studies.
The mutated version, which was recorded in Britain in mid-December, is able to infect fifty to seventy percent more than the original emerging virus and is present in the six geographical regions of the World Health Organization. As for the South African mutated virus, it is present in only four regions, which the organization has not identified.
The two mutated versions of the virus spread more rapidly, but they are not more dangerous. However, they are adding to the pressure on the health systems that in some countries such as Britain and the United States appear to be about to explode.
Questions are raised about the effectiveness of vaccines against it, but nothing so far indicates that the products used so far are less effective.
The Covid-19 epidemic has killed more than two million people in the world. The World Health Organization notes that the number of deaths increased by 9 percent in the week ending on January 17, compared to the previous week. They reached a record number of 93,000 deaths.
– .
