Yemaachi Biotech a cancer research company in Ghana has disclosed that the country has identified two new variants of the Covid-19 virus and urged authorities to take immediate action.
The firm in a Twitter post said the two variants, B.1 and B.1.525 have been in circulation in Ghana since March 2020.
The B.1 variant, first identified in Morocco and Algeria has been linked to increased transmissibility.
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According to Dr Yaw Bediako, an immunologist and Research Fellow at the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) at the University of Ghana, the B.1 variant has not shown any signs of being able to breach the vaccine-induced immunity.
“Currently there is no evidence that this variant is capable of evading vaccine induced immunity. We must keep vaccinating at a high rate to minimize the likelihood that such a variant will emerge,†he said.
However, concerning the B.1.525 variant which was first identified in Nigeria, data gathered at the research center shows it is more prevalent in the Northern and Western regions of Ghana.
It added that the variant has mutations that may allow the virus to partly evade the immune system.
Source: Primenews/ files from Myjoyonline
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