Experts: South African coronavirus variant detected in Bangladesh

A new SARS-CoV-2 variant first detected in South Africa has been found in Bangladesh, a pool of experts has said.

Only one isolated case of the new variant has been detected in the country and mutations of the variant take a significant amount of time to spread, they added.    

The finding was disclosed at a press conference organised by the Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK) in Dhaka on Monday.

The nationwide vaccination campaign from February 7 will greatly help stop the spread of the mutations, said one of the experts.

Experts from the Gonoshasthaya-RNA Molecular Diagnostic and Research Centre, Jahangirnagar University microbiology department and Brac University pharmacy department confirmed the variant after sequencing the genome of clinical samples, said a press release later in the day.

The mutation of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant is associated with the E484K variant, it added. 

Most viruses mutate and pharmaceutical companies should keep this in mind  when manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines, the experts said. 

They urged the government to complete the nationwide vaccination campaign as soon as possible, to stop the spread of coronavirus-related diseases and reduce chances of the coronavirus mutating.