fbpx
Asberth News Network
    Facebook Instagram
    • Home
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Download App
    Facebook Instagram
    Asberth News Network
    • Home
    • Latest News
    • Breaking News
    • Local News
    • Regional/International News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    Asberth News Network
    Home»News»Regional/International News»PAHO update: 32 countries and territories in the Americas have detected infection by one of three ‘variants of concern’
    Regional/International News

    PAHO update: 32 countries and territories in the Americas have detected infection by one of three ‘variants of concern’

    March 26, 2021No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Telegram WhatsApp
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Washington, D.C. March 26, 2021 (PAHO)—The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said 32 countries and territories in the Americas have reported the presence of at least one of the three “variants of concern” of the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, according to a new Epidemiological Update.

    .

    These variants may increase transmissibility of the virus, increase its virulence, or decrease the effectiveness of public health and social measures or diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics, although much remains to be learned about them.

    Current measures to reduce transmission – including frequent hand washing, wearing a mask, physical distancing, good ventilation and avoiding crowded places or closed settings – continue to work against new variants by reducing the amount of viral transmission and therefore also reducing opportunities for the virus to mutate.

    The countries and territories that reported one or more of these variants include Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Bonaire, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

    Since the initial identification of SARS-CoV-2, more than 845,000 complete genomic sequences have been shared globally through publicly accessible databases. “The capacity to monitor the data in near real time has a direct impact on the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing to identify changes in epidemiological patterns, in virulence, or in the decrease in therapeutic efficacy, among other changes,” the PAHO update noted.

    To date, three variants of SARS-CoV-2, first identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil and known as B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and B.1.1.28.1, have been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as variants of concern (VOC), in consultation with the WHO Working Group on the Evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Variants in another category, variants of interest, covering three additional types, have been reported in Brazil, the United States, and six other countries and territories.

    PAHO’s update said, “Given the significant resource requirements needed to sequence all samples in the region to identify variants, PAHO continues to work closely with laboratories in the countries of the Americas to help identify samples which should be prioritized for genomic sequencing.”

    To date, 21 countries are participating in the COVID-19 Genomic Surveillance Network, with reference sequencing laboratories in Brazil and Chile. PAHO is working together with the countries of the region to expand and strengthen the regional network, as this mechanism will be critical to tracking the spread or appearance of new variants of concern. PAHO is also supporting epidemiological studies in Brazil to understand the patterns of transmission, reinfection, and the severity of cases from the different circulating variants.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    Related Posts

    Priest Says He Briefly Died And Went To Hell, Saw Demons Singing Rihanna

    January 26, 2023

    Indonesia passes law banning sex outside marriage – for both tourists and citizens

    December 6, 2022

    REGION FOCUSES ON ENERGY SECURITY

    November 30, 2022

    Skerrit Wins Six Seats Before Election Day

    November 26, 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    • Home
    • Latest News
    • Breaking News
    • Local News
    • Regional/International News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    Our Socials
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    ANN

    Asbert News Network is the premier destination for local, regional and international news in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s tomorrow’s news today.

    © 2023 Asbert News Network
    • Home
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Download App

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.