Nigeria reports first case of Omicron variant from sample collected in October

Amid the scare of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Nigeria has found its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant in a sample it collected in October this year. This came weeks after South Africa revealed the new variant to the world, the country’s national public health institute said Wednesday. Notably, the presence of the Omicron variant in Nigeria makes it the first West African country to report the virus since South Africa joined the list of nearly 20 countries where the variant has been recorded, escalating the global concern.

According to a statement issued by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, the cases of the Omicron variant were detected during genomic sequencing of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, which also included travellers from South Africa. The sample of the virus was detected in two unidentified travellers who had arrived in the West African country last week.  

Nigeria reports its first case of Omicron variant of COVID-19

"Retrospective sequencing of the previously confirmed cases among travellers to Nigeria also identified the omicron variant among the samples collected in October 2021," Nigeria CDC director-general Dr Ifedayo Adetifa said. Scientists all across the world are researching the newly detected virus as little information is available about the new variant, including whether it is more contagious, whether it makes people more seriously ill, and if it can thwart the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria CDC has urged citizens to be on alert, follow COVID appropriate measures, and also called for increasing the daily testing rate amid concerns that the country's low testing rate might emerge as its biggest challenge in facing the new variant. While speaking to The Associated Press, a public health officer, Musa Ahmed, stated, "Testing for the virus is low in many states, even in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and in parts of Kuje, which is a suburb of the country's capital.

With Inputs from AP

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