The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said it had detected the first P.1 variant of the coronavirus, also known as the variant of …
The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said it had detected the first P.1 variant of the coronavirus, also known as the variant of concern (VOC) from Brazil. It was found in a Filipino worker, who is from Western Visayas, who had returned from Brazil, the DOH said. It said it was still looking for more information regarding his case. There are currently three VOCs globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These are the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom (the UK variant), the B.1.351 variant initially detected in South Africa (the SA variant) and the P.1 variant. Highly transmissible All three VOCs are now in the Philippines. These variants have been associated with higher transmissibility and initial studies also show that the South African variant may be resistant to some vaccines. Scientists found that the virus with the P.1 variant has a spike protein that makes it bind quicker to human cells, making it more infectious. The DOH also confirmed that continued whole genome sequencing has led to the detection of 59 more cases of the UK variant and 32 cases of the SA variant. This brings the country’s total to 177 UK variant cases and 90 SA variant cases. The DOH also confirmed that it was directed to designate “P.3” to a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the severe respiratory disease, which was initially detected in the Philippines. This variant contains two mutations of concern, the DOH said. However, the health department stressed that it was not yet declaring P.3 a variant of concern. There are already 98 cases of the P.
