There appears to be some good news regarding contact tracing of community infections as scientists at the University of Ghana have discovered critical information about the virus responsible for COVID-19.
The scientists at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) of the University have analysed samples from selected cases to understand differences in the virus currently in Ghana.
The data would help mainly the contact tracing in people who do not come into contact with confirmed cases.
In a statement sighted happyghana.com from the university said “The successful establishment of this sequencing capability at University of Ghana is a significant milestone in Ghana‘s response to the pandemic, as it will Strengthen surveillance for tracking mutations of the virus and aid in the Tracing of the sources of community infections in people with no known contact with confirmed cases.
The statement notes that nine samples were analysed from travellers who arrived in Ghana from the UK, Norway, Hungary, India and United States and through this, the differences in the virus were identified.
“The data tells us that, while there were some differences between the strains from the various countries, all the 15 genomes generally resembled (with >92% similarity) the reference strain that was isolated in the Wuhan Province of China, where the outbreak began,” the statement further said.
“This confirms that we are dealing with the same pathogen, and that it has not yet changed its genetic make-up significantly. It is natural that pathogens will evolve as they encounter different environmental challenges, so we will need to continue monitoring to keep track with these changes and determine how they impact on the efficacy of potential drugs or vaccines that are being developed”, it added.
Download the full statement below.