HAVANA, Cuba, May 11 (ACN) It is normal for viruses to mutate, as it is a phenomenon related to the transmission itself, because as they reproduce there are errors that cause changes in the genetic sequence and give rise to mutations.
Although it is a natural process, it becomes a cause for alarm, because when these mutations are found with the same characteristics in populations from different regions of the world, we are in the presence of genetic variants, which in the case of SARS-CoV-2 make it more transmissible.
In Cuba, as in many countries, genomic surveillance is carried out to study not only whether people are infected with the novel coronavirus, but also in outbreaks of autochthonous transmission, deaths, foreign visitors and serious and critical patients, the sequence is analyzed with a view to determining how the virus is behaving.
The World Health Organization described the variants reported for the first time in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil as being of concern, as they are associated with increased transmissibility and possible implications for patient severity, immune response or the efficacy of current vaccines.
All three are currently circulating in the Caribbean island, according to Dr. Jose Angel Portal Miranda, minister of public health, during the Mesa Redonda, TV program, a panorama that has changed since December 2020 with the entry of travelers from abroad.
Statistics offered by the head of the public health ministry show the predominance of the strain detected in South African territory, since in Havana it has been found in almost 50 % of the cases studied and in Matanzas in almost 90 %; hence the great transmission that has taken place in that province.
The minister pointed out that a study on deceased people from all over the country showed the presence of the variant notified in the African nation in 68.1 % of those analyzed, although in Havana the rate was 80.4 %, being four times more likely that the deceased were infected with it.
Analyses in severe and critical cases showed the presence in 87.7 % of the cases studied in Havana, where a great diversity of variants and autochthonous mutational patterns were observed, with an increase, as of February, of those reported in South Africa, the United Kingdom and California.
Apart from Havana, the western provinces of Pinar del Rio, Mayabeque and Artemisa show the highest number of different patterns of variants.
The complex scenario requires greater discipline by the population and compliance with hygienic and distancing measures, in addition to the correct use of masks, key to cut transmission, regardless of how much SARS-CoV-2 changes.
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