Vietnam detects hybrid of COVID variants found in India & UK, states 'spreads through air'

In a breaking COVID-19 development, Vietnam detected a new coronavirus variant on May 29. The variant is found to be a hybrid of strains first found in India and the UK, the country's health minister said. Vietnamese lab tests suggested it spreads more easily than any other COVID variants.

Viruses often develop minute genetic changes as they multiply thus, plenty of coronavirus variants have emerged since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic last year. The World Health Organisation enlisted four global "variants of concerns"- first found in the UK, India plus ones detected in South Africa and Brazil. 

Vietnamese Minister of Health, Nguyen Thanh Long stated that scientists have examined the genetic composition of the Vietnam COVID variant virus which had infected few patients which resulted in the newest version of the novel coronavirus. The variant has been reported to be highly contagious that spreads quickly by air. 

Nguyen Thanh Long announced, "After running gene sequencing on newly detected patients, we have discovered a new variant that is a mix of India and UK ones. More specifically, it is an Indian variant with mutations that originally belong to the UK variant." 

8 variants in Vietnam

Laboratory studies of the newly discovered Vietnam COVID variant to be more transmissible than the previously known types revealed that the virus replicated in a jiffy which explains the sudden surge in COVID cases that appeared in distinct locations in a very short span, Long elaborated. He informed that the virus has spread to 30 of the country's 63 municipalities and provinces. Vietnam had previously reported seven virus variants: B.1.222, B.1.619, D614G, B.1.1.7 (the UK variant), B.1.351, A.23.1 and B.1.617.2 (the Indian variant).

Vietnam's COVID crisis escalating

Vietnam was initially an outstanding COVID performer but is currently battling a grave recently raged COVID-19 crisis there Even though the country was successful in curbing infections for most of last year, in the last few weeks, Vietnam confirmed more than 3,500 fresh COVID infections with 12 deaths taking the country's death toll to 47.

While Vietnam has administered over a million residents with AstraZeneca shots, last week it sealed a deal with Pfizer for 30 million doses due in the third and fourth quarter of this year.

The Southeast Asian country has registered 6,396 COVID cases and 47 COVID related deaths so far.