Warning of the emergence of a new species in Africa

The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) of the African Union has warned of a possible outbreak of a new type of COVID-19 on the continent.

“The increase (in the number of cases) is a clear sign that there is a strong possibility that a new, more transmissible version will emerge,” Ahmed Oguil, deputy director of the CDC in Africa, said on Thursday.

Africa has recorded an average increase of 36% in new cases of COVID-19 over the past four weeks, according to the CDC in Africa which determines that the central and eastern regions of the continent have respectively reported an increase of 113 and 54% of cases. new.

“We need to do more testing and sequencing so that we can understand where the outbreak is and identify the alternative that emerges,” Ogwell said, calling for greater deployment of vaccination.

He added, “We are clearly seeing an increase in deaths from the epidemic with an increase in cases over the past four weeks.”

According to the Africa CDC, five African countries reported the highest number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past week (South Africa 50,404 cases, Tanzania 1,482, Namibia 1,054, Zimbabwe 910, Burundi 817.

As of Wednesday evening, the African continent has recorded a total of 1,1570885 cumulative cases of COVID-19.

The number of deaths related to the epidemic reached about 252,771 cases on the same date, while the total number of recoveries reached 10,892,454, the CDC identifies in Africa.

SL (with MAP)