COVID-19 “Nigeria variant”: NO cause for alarm from initial data

The following five reasons support why there is no cause for alarm regarding the “Nigeria variant” announced Thursday (Dec. 24). In contrast with the two different virus variants linked separately with increasing cases in the UK and South Africa, the variant in Nigeria has:

• NOT been linked with the increasing cases in Nigeria;
• NOT been found in hundreds of persons in multiple locations. Instead, it has been found so far in only two patients in Osun State, (south-western Nigeria) one August 3 and the other Oct. 9;
• NOT been found to have the N501Y mutation that is found in both the South African and the UK variants, and that may increase binding to the human cell receptor (ACE2);
• NOT been found to contain any of the other 22 mutations reported in the UK variant beyond the SINGLE mutation “P681H” in the spike (S) protein near the furin cleavage site.
• NOT been found to contain any of the 3 mutations in the South African variant’s Receptor Binding Domain.

On Wednesday, (Dec. 23) data were posted online at virological.org in a report titled: “Detection of SARS-CoV-2 P681H Spike Variant in Nigeria.”

The named co-authors are: Christian Happi, PhD, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria Director, African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases [ACEGID]; Chikwe Ihekweazu, MPH, FFPH, Director-General, Nigerian Centre for Disease Control [NCDC], Abuja, Nigeria; John Nkengasong, PhD, Director-General, Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (AfDCD), Addis-Abeba, Ethiopia; Paul Eniola Oluniyi, MSc, (PhD in view), African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria; Idowu Olawoye, MSc, (PhD in view), African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria.