Experts raise concern over surge in new COVID-19 variant cases in the UK
While multiple infections have been recorded, the exact variant behind the resurgence has yet to be identified.
Amid a reported spike in COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom, health experts are advising Kenyans to stay alert and cautious.
While multiple infections have been recorded, the exact variant behind the resurgence has yet to be identified.
Specialists suggest it could either be a new strain or a mutation of a previously known variant.
Professor Omu Anzala, a virologist from the University of Nairobi, emphasized that the virus remains a present threat both in Kenya and across the world.
"COVID-19 has never been fully contained; it has continued to circulate, even if most people no longer experience severe illness," Prof. Omu Anzala told The Standard in an interview, noting that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still present.
COVID-19, a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, continues to pose a global health concern.
Data from the World Health Organization shows that over the past 28 days, at least 150,503 cases have been reported worldwide.
The infections have been recorded across various continents, including Africa, the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, the Western Pacific, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The United Kingdom has so far recorded at least 232,112 COVID-19 cases, with the numbers steadily increasing. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the country has reported over 24.9 million infections.
According to The Mirror and the Public Health Agency, a new variant identified as NB.1.8.1 is currently circulating in Northern Ireland.
While symptoms vary from person to person, doctors have observed some unusual signs associated with the current variant such as heartburn which differ from those seen in earlier strains.
Prof. Omu Anzala has cautioned that if the newly reported COVID-19 variant is not contained, it could easily spread to Kenya, emphasizing that diseases of this nature are a global concern.
"When the outbreak began in China, wasn’t it a concern for us? Any issue, no matter where it arises, should be taken seriously especially infections that transmit directly from person to person, such as influenza, flu, M-Pox, and Marburg," he noted.
He further warned that the strain currently emerging in the UK and other parts of Europe and North America could be a mutation of SARS-CoV-2 that is unfamiliar locally.
"It might be a completely new strain or a mutation of an existing one, and we may not have immunity against it. That’s why we must treat it with the seriousness it deserves," Anzala added.
In the U.K., some doctors are now questioning whether it’s time to reintroduce face masks a preventive measure that played a key role in curbing the spread of COVID-19 during its peak in 2020 and 2021.
Locally, data from Kenya’s Ministry of Health indicates that the virus has claimed the lives of at least 5,689 people since the pandemic began.
