jun 28, 2021
Delta coronavirus variant: scientists brace for impact
Here's some information from Dr. Spector
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The variant has now been identified in at least 13 of the continent’s 54 countries, although few African nations have the capacity for large-scale genome sequencing. In several—including Uganda, Congo and South Africa—Delta has become the dominant strain of the virus within just a few weeks, coinciding with unprecedented peaks in Covid-19 cases.
“It is frightening to see what is going on across the continent,” said John Nkengasong, the director of the Africa CDC. “This is the first time that we are beginning to see countries report that their health system…the hospitals are completely overwhelmed.”
In South Africa, the continent’s most industrialized economy and the country with the most sophisticated genome-sequencing program, Delta now appears to be responsible for nearly three-quarters of infections, a tripling compared with the start of June, according to data from the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform. In Uganda, Delta was found in 97% of test samples sequenced recently, while in Congo it was detected in 79% of samples, according to the World Health Organization.
