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The proliferation of Covid-19 variants in Africa, in part attributed to low vaccination rates on the continent, could lead to vaccine-escaping mutations that complicate attempts to end the pandemic, a group of 112 African organizations said and 25 international.
A study of the genomes of 33 African countries and two “overseas territories”, published Thursday in the journal Science, follows the evolution of the pandemic across the continent and the emergence of a number of so- saying variants of concern and variants of interest. One of them, the beta, spread around the world earlier this year and made some vaccines partially ineffective.
The “slow roll-out of vaccines in most African countries creates an environment in which the virus can replicate and evolve,” the organizations said. “It will almost certainly produce additional VOCs, each of which could derail the global fight against Covid-19. “
While more than half of the population of the United States and over 60% of people living in the European Union are fully vaccinated, only 3.2% of Africa’s 1.2 billion people have been fully immunized. vaccinated. This resulted in a third wave of serious infections in many countries and the emergence of a new variant in South Africa known as C.1.2.
The study showed that Covid-19 was introduced to most African countries from Europe, and in turn, the continent exported the variants it spawned to European countries. Different strains of the virus have spread across the continent, mainly from South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, three of the African countries most closely linked to the rest of the world.
The beta variant, identified in South Africa in December, quickly spread to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, most likely along the roads and rail lines that connect the country’s ports to the subcontinent, according to the study. .
The research is the first major result of leading African scientists with the aim of increasing the continent’s capacity to produce and analyze genomic data. Two variants in West Africa and East Africa, known as B.1.525 and A.23.1, need to be contained, he said.
“Take on the worst”
“There is strong evidence that these two VOIs increase in frequency in the regions where they have been detected, suggesting that they may be in better physical shape than other variants,” the scientists said. “Although more focused research on the biological properties of these VOIs is needed to confirm whether they should be considered VOCs, it would be safe to assume the worst.”
The study was carried out in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Africa has so far reported just over 200,000 deaths and just under 8 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to Africa CDC. Still, testing is limited and anecdotal evidence points to a much more serious outbreak. In South Africa alone, there have been more than 250,000 additional deaths, a measure of mortality compared to a historic average, since the start of the pandemic. Scientists assume that most of these are due to Covid-19.
“If the virus continues to evolve on the African continent, it will become a global problem,” said Tulio de Oliveira, a professor of bioinformatics who helped set up the study and heads genetic sequencing institutions in two South African universities. “It is our moral duty to try to protect Africa and the world.”
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