Covid Mayday: Hybrid variant of coronavirus in Vietnam, could be deadlier than previous strains

As several countries are battling the coronavirus second wave, a new variant of Covid has sent a distress signal to medical experts all across the globe. This hybrid variant of coronavirus has been detected in Vietnam, and it is a mix of variants detected in India and the United Kingdom. Vietnam health minister Nguyen Thanh Long confirmed this news and added that the country is battling a fresh outbreak of coronavirus which was once controlled effectively. 

Fresh coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam wreaks havoc

Vietnam has successfully contained the coronavirus pandemic for nearly a year, but the new outbreak of Covid in the country has started bothering medical experts in the nation. According to the latest updates more than 3,600 people have been infected with coronavirus in the country, and the detection of the new hybrid variant is adding up to the worries. 

"After running gene sequencing on newly detected patients, we have discovered a new variant that is a mix of India and UK ones. More specifically, it is an Indian variant with mutations that originally belong to the UK variant," said Long, online newspaper VnExpress reports. 

Vietnam has previously reported several other variants that include, B.1.222, B.1.619, D614G, B.1.1.7 (the UK variant), B.1.351, A.23.1, and B.1.617.2. With the detection of the new hybrid variant, medical experts in the country are now on high alert, as they believe this new outbreak could turn deadlier. 

Transmissibility of the new variant could be higher than old variants

Laboratory cultures of the new Covid variant suggested that it could be highly transmissible when compared to other variants. Researchers noted that the virus is replicating very quickly, and it could be one of the reasons behind the sudden surge in fresh cases. 

Long also added that authorities in Vietnam are analyzing the current scenario to curb the spread of coronavirus in the coming days.