Variant B.1.617 for better surveillance in Quebec

Eleven cases linked to the Indian variant B.1.617 were confirmed in Quebec and others, in the ordering process, are suspected. Similar to Canada, Quebec will keep a short list of variants under Improved Surveillance (VSSR) by next week, according to the National Institutes of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ).

The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg confirmed that it had identified 11 cases of the B.1.617 variant found in Quebec, after sorting samples taken from passengers at airports, d.^r Michelle Roger, Medical Director of the Laboratoire de Santa Public du Quebec (LSPQ).

“According to our information, these cases are not passenger and community transmission cases. But they can come from other Canadian provinces, from India, the United Kingdom, the United States,” he stressed.

In fact, the Indian variant is now in British Columbia, where 300 cases and community transmissions were started, while 150 cases were reported in Ontario, the doctor said.^r Roger.

“In British Columbia, they were vigilant,” he said. The Public Health Agency of Canada has added the Indian variant to its list of variants under Advanced Surveillance (VSSR) and we will follow suit. We will make a recommendation to the public health department next week, ”he said.

Sequencing

At present, Quebec does not screen for random screenings for variants specific to the Indian variant with the aim of monitoring the evolution of variants. “We do not have what is required in our tests to identify this variant. We need to add a mutation so that it can be detected. We have to follow this very closely, ”he said^r Roger.

The LSPQ director said he did not know where the 11 cases confirmed so far in Quebec came from, as the information would be sent by NML to the public health departments of the areas where the infected people live.

On April 22, the first case of the B.1.617 variant was reported in Mauritius. According to the spread, on Thursday, 26 workers were moved back to Saint-Hubert from a mining site on Baffin Island in Nunavut, where variants – including the Indian variant – are suspected to be the cause. They are not part of the official count of 11 cases of variant B.1.617 confirmed by sequencing.

The sudden increase in these variant cases in Quebec is believed to be due in part to the time required for NML sequencing. It is not excluded that other cases will be aired, D indicated^r Gaston de Ceres on TVA.

If 90% of the variant cases certified in Quebec are now linked to the B.1.1.7 (British) variant, “This variant should not be allowed to be fixed in the community, D^r Roger. This is what we fear. These are small numbers now, but the British variant, in a month and a half, has become major ”.

Accelerate vaccinations

Although the data are still basic, the increased transmissibility of the Indian variant is of some concern. To present the United Kingdom Award on May 7 Title of Variant of anxiety (VOC), Supervised by the World Health Organization (WHO) Three days later.

The virus, which is prevalent in many parts of India, has now spread to 44 countries. The UK Public Health Agency (PHE) on Friday announced the number of cases that have caused the Indian variant. Double In a single week in London, 520 to 1,313 cases.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday warned his fellow citizens that the gradual lifting of the container, which was to begin in the next few days, could be hampered by this sudden increase in the Indian variant.

The United Kingdom has announced its intention to move beyond 2^E To prevent this new variant, vaccine the dose by reducing the time between two injections to 12 to 8 weeks. For the same reasons, the military is also deployed to speed up vaccination in areas where it is spreading.

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