Vietnamese variant of coronavirus identified, a hybrid of British and Indian types

Vietnam has discovered a new variant of the coronavirus which is a hybrid between the first strains found in India and the United Kingdom, Vietnamese Minister of Health reported.

Scientists identified the variant by examining the genetic makeup of the virus that recently infected patients, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said, adding that laboratory tests indicate that it might spread more easily than other versions of the virus.

The new variant has been extended to 30 of the 63 municipalities and provinces of Vietnam and that could be responsible for a recent spike in confirmed cases, Long said.

Viruses often grow small genetic changes during reproduction and new variants of the coronavirus have been discovered almost since the one that causes COVID-19 was detected in China in late 2019.

The World Health Organization has listed four “disturbing variants” around the world: those found in the UK and India and two others identified in South Africa and Brazil.

Vietnam was first distinguished by its success in the fight against the virus. By early May, it had recorded just over 3,100 confirmed cases and 35 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

But in recent weeks, the country has confirmed more than 3,500 new cases and 12 additional deaths.

Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, specifies that this variant “is responsible for the new wave of infections” in the country, It started about a month ago and has so far registered 3,595 new cases in 33 cities and provinces, the official said.

“The hallmark of this strain is that it spreads quickly through the air. The concentration of virus in throat fluid increases rapidly and it spreads very strongly in the surrounding environment, ”Long said.

Mutations happen all the time, but when a group of viruses share the same set of mutations, they form what is called a variant.

During the pandemic, variants of SARS-CoV-2 in various parts of the world.

Some of them are what are technically called “worrying variants”, because they have the potential to be more contagious, cause more serious illness or reduce the effect of vaccines.

So far they have been identified at least three variants of concern: B.1.1.7, identified for the first time in the United Kingdom; B.1.351, first identified in South Africa; and P.1, first identified in Brazil.