By NG Seruela
The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that the B.1.617 COVID-19 variant, which was first discovered in India, has been detected in the Philippines.
In a press briefing on Tuesday (May 11), DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire announced the presence of the variant in two out of 46 samples sequenced on May 8.
The two cases are both returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). One is a 37-year-old male from Oman, who is currently in Region 12, and arrived in the Philippines on April 10. He was immediately isolated upon arrival.
The patient then recovered on April 26. However, he underwent additional home quarantine in his home region until May 10. His repeat RT-PCR test result yielded negative on May 3, and he is currently asymptomatic.
The other patient is a 58-year-old male from Region V who came from the United Arab Emirates. He arrived in the Philippines on April 19 and was isolated in a temporary treatment and monitoring facility in Clark, and recovered on May 6. He is also asymptomatic.
Vergeire said no close contacts of the two cases were identified since they were immediately placed under quarantine upon their arrival.
The DOH assured that it is continuously monitoring all the presence of the variants of concern.
What is the B.1.617 variant?
The B.1.617 variant was first found in India in October 2020 in the global genome database (GISAID).
According to the DOH, based on the GISAID database, the variant is detected in 46 other countries. It also has at least 15 mutations. However, two of the 15 mutations are of significance: L452R and E484Q.
The mutation L452R is “associated with increased transmissibility and reduced antibody neutralization,” while the mutation E484Q can “increase binding capacity to AE2 receptor, [and] may help the virus escape immune response.”
WHO considers B.1.617 a “variant of global concern”
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday (May 10) said it considers the B.1.617 COVID-19 variant a “variant of global concern.”
Based on a CNBC report, WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19 Maria Van Kerkhove said “preliminary studies” of the B.1.167 variant suggest an increase in transmissibility. However, further studies are yet to be done.
In the latest WHO report, India has a total of 22,662,575 COVID-19 cases and 246,116 deaths. Meanwhile 366,161 new cases and 3,754 fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours. -jlo
