DOH, PGC say UK and South African COVID-19 variants not yet detected in PHL

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(Eagle News) – The Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Genome Center stressed that they have not detected the COVID-19 variant, B.1.1.7 that was first detected in the United Kingdom in recent COVID-19 samples collected in the country.

The PGC also said that it did not detect the South African variant in its biosurveillance of COVID-19 samples sent to their laboratories from October 31 to December 30 last year.

The DOH issued this clarification to correct certain social media stories circulating about the alleged presence of the UK variant in local COVID-19 samples.

-PHL intensifying biosurveillance-

“The Department of Health and the Philippine Genome Center, to date, have not detected the UK variant, or any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in any of the positive samples tested. The DOH and the PGC are closely working together in order to intensify ongoing biosurveillance efforts,” said a statement from the Department of Health.

The DOH also called on the public “to refrain from disseminating unverified information which only serve to create panic and confusion.”

The Philippine Genome Center (PGC), in a Jan. 6 statement said that in their continuing biosurveillance of COVID-19 samples in the country, they have not yet detected neither the UK nor the South African variant.

The PGC said that “in order to track if the new SARS-CoV-2 variants have already entered the country” they received samples from the Cordillera Administrative Region, the National Capital Region, CALABARZON, and a single sample from General Santos City.

This was done in cooperation with the DOH Epidemiological Bureau.

They then “combined these with our samples bio-banked at the PGC to sequence and analyze the genomes of a total of 305 SARS-CoV-2 samples that were collected from 31 October to 30 December 2020. “

“These samples came from hospitalized patients as well as inbound travelers,” it said.

“Among the 305 samples analyzed, we were able to assemble and assign lineages in 274 samples – none of which were classified to lineage B.1.1.7 (UK variant). We were also not able to observe the triple spike protein mutations characteristic of the South African variant (lineage B.1.351),” the PGC said.

“The most common lineages observed in this set of samples are the following: B.1.1.63 (Hong Kong lineage) found in 106 samples, B.1.1 (European lineage) found in 51 samples, and B.1.1.263 (UAE lineage) found in 49 samples,” it said.

 

(Eagle News Service)