COVID-19: More variants detected, including new hybrid strain discovered in Vietnam.

Vietnam, a country of 97 million people, has only vaccinated a little over a million citizens.

Yesterday their health officials confirmed they detected a mutation that had not previously been seen before. Officials say this new coronavirus strain is a combination of the Indian and British variants, and is said to be so contagious that it can spread quickly by air. 

The country is now struggling to deal with fresh outbreaks across more than half of its territory, including industrial zones and big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Covid-19 cases

So far the country has over 6,800 cases which unfortunately includes 47 deaths, most fatalities occurring since April.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long announced to the public on Saturday: 

"We have discovered a new hybrid variant from the Indian and the UK strains." 

"The characteristic of this strain is that it spreads quickly in the air. The concentration of virus in the throat fluid increases rapidly and spreads very strongly to the surrounding environment."

He did not specify the number of cases recorded with this new variant but said Vietnam will soon announce the discovery in the world's map of genetic strains.

Sequencing

Vietnam's Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said in a statement Saturday that its scientists had detected gene mutations in four out of 32 patient samples through gene sequencing.

There were seven known coronavirus variants in Vietnam before Long's announcement, according to the Ministry of Health.

The communist country has previously received praise and admiration for its aggressive pandemic response, with mass quarantines and strict contact tracing helping keep infection rates relatively low. It however seems that these tactics were not enough.

Restrictions

The new round of infections has made the public and government fearful and authorities have quickly moved to place strict limits on movement and business activity.

Cafes, restaurants, hair salons and massage parlours as well as tourism and religious spots have been ordered to close in various areas of the country.

It is now ramping up its vaccination measures and hopes to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year, according to the health minister.

Local authorities have urged people and businesses to donate money to help procure vaccines, while embassies and international organisations have been contacted for assistance, the state media reported.

The country presently has close to two million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine remaining, but said it is seeking to buy more than 30 million doses of the Pfizer shot.

Additionally, it is seeking to purchase Russia's Sputnik V, according to state media, and is also working on its own vaccine.

The bad news continues as there are more emerging variants we humans have to contend with.

Thai variant

 On the same day (May 29) Vietnam announced its variant, neighboring Thailand had to do damage control after the British authorities labelled a variant recently discovered there as the 'Thai variant'. 

Though first detected in Thailand, the strain was found in a 33 year old Egyptian traveller.

"Principally speaking, it should not be called the Thai variant because the infected person is from overseas," said Opas Kankawinpong, head of Thailand's disease control department.

So far UK's health officials have reported 109 cases of this variant in Britain.

Other variants

According to the CDC, there are currently five (5) dominant strains of the coronavirus:

"B.1.1.7: This variant was first detected in the United States in December 2020. It was initially detected in the United Kingdom.

"B.1.351: This variant was first detected in the United States at the end of January 2021. It was initially detected in South Africa in December 2020.

"P.1: This variant was first detected in the United States in January 2021. P.1 was initially identified in travelers from Brazil, who were tested during routine screening at an airport in Japan, in early January.

"B.1.427 and B.1.429: These two variants were first identified in California in February 2021." [1]

Of note is the fact that three (3) of the five (5) variants originated in other countries, but found their way to the US (and other countries) through unsuspecting travellers.

Apparently all these new variants are very contagious and are easily spread from person to person. So be careful, sanitize and wear a mask.

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References:

1. CDC. COVID-19: Variants of the Virus. Updated May 20, 2021. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant.html