Re-emergence of Covid-19 | Probe continues to identify strain – nation.lk – The Nation Newspaper

Current strain a mutation of Covid-19 virusYet to pinpoint virus country of origin

Health authorities are proceeding with investigations to identify the exact strain of the Covid-19 virus that hit the country last month, after identifying that the current virus spreading in the country was a different strain from the one witnessed earlier this year.

When contacted by The Morning, Ministry of Health Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said the virus was mutating and the current strain was also a mutation of the Covid-19 virus.

When asked from which country the virus had come to Sri Lanka, he said that answer could only be given by a microbiologist or virologist. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has warned that the latest variant of the coronavirus is more dangerous than the earlier one.

Health Ministry Secretary Maj. Gen. Dr. Sanjeewa Munasinghe said that the latest variant of the virus has been identified as B142, a subgroup of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

He said that this was confirmed by scientists at the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine and the Allergy, Immunology, and Cell Biology Unit of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

Dr. Munasinghe noted that the viral load in a person is higher than what it was earlier.

When contacted, Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) Secretary Dr. Senal Fernando told The Morning that they suspected the virus could be a different strain as the asymptomatic patients have also been identified as spreading the virus, contrary to the previous strain in the country.

The universitys efforts should be appreciated even though the exact strain has not been identified. With the limited resources they have, it has been identified that the virus strain is similar to that of the one in Europe, he added.

At present, 6,134 active cases continue to receive treatment at selected hospitals across the country.

Meanwhile, the total of Sri Lankas Covid-19 recoveries reached 4,905 yesterday (2) after 506 patients were discharged from hospitals as they had returned to health.

The country has also witnessed 22 Covid-19-positive deaths.

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Re-emergence of Covid-19 | Probe continues to identify strain - nation.lk - The Nation Newspaper