The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Tuesday that at least 38 additional new cases of different variants that may have possibly mutated from SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
DOH, University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and the UP-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) on Tuesday bared the detection of 30 B.1.1.7 variant (UK variant) cases, six B.1.351 variant (South Africa variant) cases, and two additional “cases with mutations of interest.”
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that they are currently investigating if the uptick in Covid-19 cases in Pasay City can be attributed to the South Africa variant after three of the six cases came from the city.
“The probability is always there but we need to do a thorough analysis to confirm,” Vergeire said in an online media forum.
She, however stressed that “the variant can aggravate [and may possibly] hasten transmission.”
When asked if there is already a local transmission of the South African variant in Pasay City, they health official said that they are still “investigating” such possibility.
The Pasay City local government has already placed 77 barangays under localized enhanced community quarantine following the spike of Covid cases recorded in the past weeks.
Samples sequenced
Among the 8th batch of 350 samples sequenced by the UP-PGC, six yielded positive results of the South Africa variant, 30 UK variant and two additional samples from Region 7 were found to have both N501Y and E484K mutations.
Of the six cases positive of South Africa variant, three are local cases, two are returning Overseas Filipinos (ROF) and one case is still being verified as to location.
The three local cases were reported as residents of Pasay City whose samples were collected between January 27 and February 13, 2021.
Two of the local cases, a 61-year-old female and a 39-year-old male, are active cases currently being managed by the local government.
The third local case, a 40-year-old male, has already recovered.
On the other hand, the two ROFs arrived in the country from United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Their statuses are, however, currently being verified.
Moreover, the DOH is currently verifying if the sixth case is a local case or an ROF.
To date, the DOH said that there are already 48 countries with reported cases of the B.1.351 variant.
While there is no evidence, Vergeire reiterated that “this variant causes more severe disease, the pattern of mutations within this variant suggests higher transmissibility and may have an impact on vaccine efficacy,” or an “immune escape” may occur.
UK variant
Meanwhile, upon submission of sequencing data of the 62 original UK variant cases as of last count to the Global Initiative on Sharing of All Influenza Data (GISAID), GISAID reclassified five cases as belonging to other variants.
This brought the total number of UK variant cases in the country to 57.
With the addition of the 30 cases detected in the latest genome sequencing batch, the total UK variant cases in the country is now at 87.
Of the 30 additional cases with this variant, 20 cases are ROFs, three are local cases, and seven are currently being verified if these are local cases or ROFs.
Twenty detected ROFs entered the country from the Middle East, Singapore, and the United States of America between January 20 and February 16, 2021.
Thirteen of these are asymptomatic active cases, while seven have now recovered.
On the other hand, the three local B.1.1.7 variant cases are from the Cordillera Administrative Region, where Vergeire confirmed that there may already be a local transmission of the said variant in the area.
One case is currently active and has been admitted to a hospital, one has recovered, and one is a reported fatality.
The linkage of the three local cases to previously reported UK variant cases in the region is currently being investigated.
Mutations of interest
Moreover, based on the latest sequencing results, two additional samples from Region 7 were found to have both N501Y and E484K mutations.
The DOH also reported that upon further verification, two cases from Region 7 previously reported to have these mutations have been delisted, thus the total remains at 34 cases.
Despite the arrival of vaccines and the successful initial vaccination activities, the DOH emphasized that adherence to minimum public health standards is still the best course of action to prevent community transmission and further virus mutations.
“The DOH further calls on local government units to immediately implement necessary measures in line with the national PDITR strategy,” the DOH said. The PDITR stands for Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate strategy.
The DOH added that local governments are also encouraged to be on heightened alert to monitor, detect, and report unusual spikes in cases in their respective areas.
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