A “VARIANT under investigation” was discovered in the first batch of samples the Department of Health (DOH) 7 sent to the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) for genomic biosurveillance.
The DOH 7 had sent 70 samples that were collected between Dec. 30, 2020 and Jan. 2, 2021 after Cebu experienced a rapid rise in the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
However, only 59 passed the PGC’s final criteria for testing.
The samples were collected from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and Cebu Province.
DOH 7 spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said all the samples tested negative for the UK B.1.1.7 variant.
Loreche said 37 samples had two “mutations of concern” —E484K and N501Y — while 29 samples had a co-occurence of the two mutations and these are what they call a “variant under investigation” or a “variant of concern.”
According to Loreche, a “variant” means there are mutations in the genetic sequence of a virus like Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
“There is no name yet because they have not identified the actual, the entire sequence. That’s the problem here. So that means this is considered a ‘variant under investigation,’” she said.
DOH 7 Director Dr. Jaime Bernadas said the latest finding is an initial report from an epidemiological investigation and surveillance.