HEALTH authorities on Friday, February 19, 2021, said it would take at least two weeks to study the coronavirus mutations detected in Cebu and reassess the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) response of the local government units.
Whether a Philippine variant of Sars-CoV-2 has emerged remains to be seen, said Dr. Cynthia Saloma, executive director of the University of the Philippines (UP) - Philippine Genome Center (PGC).
“Probably, we will know that in the next two weeks,” Saloma said in a virtual media forum Friday.
She said they expected to receive more PCR-positive samples from Cebu and nearby provinces for genomic sequencing to determine whether mutations were also present in other areas. The PGC currently conducts genome sequencing on an average of 750 samples per week.
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III was cautious in linking the rise in new infections in Cebu to the mutations N501Y and E484K that were detected in 31 PCR-positive specimens taken in Cebu.
He said other factors must be considered, as he noted that the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu as well as the entire Cebu Province have been under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the least restrictive form of community quarantine.
The fewer restrictions allow increased mobility, which translates to a higher contact rate and, thus, a higher transmission rate of the virus, Duque said.
DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Alethea de Guzman, for her part, said no conclusion has been reached on whether the mutations caused the surge in cases.
What’s important is that measures have been taken to contain the spread of the virus, she stressed.
The N501Y mutation, which has been reported to be more transmissible, is found in the B.1.1.7 variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom. Both the N501Y and E484K mutations were detected in the B.1.351 variant in South Africa and the P.1 variant in Brazil. The E484K mutation, which has been reported to evade antibodies, was also detected in a newly announced variant, B.1.525, in the UK.
These are all variants of Sars-CoV-2, the coronavirus strain that causes Covid-19. A variant refers to a virus with a specific group of mutations.
As of Friday, the PGC has confirmed 44 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in the Philippines. However, the PGC has not concluded whether those recently detected among the samples taken from Cebu were the same as the B.1.1.7 variant.
“It doesn’t mean na dahil nakita natin ‘to dito, parang UK variant na s’ya or parang South African variant na s’ya. It’s the combination, it’s the whole sentence, it’s the whole book (that we need to look at),” said Dr. Edsel Salvana, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the UP National Institutes of Health.
“Maraming variants na may ganitong mutations and not all of those variants have increased transmissibility. Not all of those variants have decreased vaccine efficacy. Kayo kailangan pag-aralan kasi these are just words,” he added.
DOH Central Visayas Director Jaime Bernadas said they need two weeks to evaluate the measures that will be strengthening following the detection of the mutations.
He said they have to intensify the campaign for minimum public health standards, increase capacity for testing to detect more cases and intensify contact tracing.
He said they have also been in talks with the health facilities to prepare for a possible surge in Covid-19 admissions.
He noted, however, that the cases with the mutations were all mild, except for two people who were asymptomatic. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)