MONROVIA, Montserrado – After previously announcing that the current wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in Liberia is being pushed by the U.K.-originating Alpha variant of the virus, Liberia’s chief medical officer now says health officials in the country are unsure of which variant is driving the third wave of the pandemic.
According to the World Health Organization, all viruses, including the one that causes COVID-19, change over time: “Most changes have little to no impact on the virus’ properties. However, some changes may affect the virus’s properties, such as how easily it spreads, the associated disease severity, or the performance of vaccines, therapeutic medicines, diagnostic tools, or other public health and social measures.”
Liberia’s third wave, which began in late May, is already producing a significantly higher number of confirmed cases than the first.
At a June 17 press conference, Kateh had said that the Health Ministry believes that the Alpha variant of the virus is driving the ongoing third wave of cases in the country. However, during a June 23 interview on OK FM, Kateh provided new developments on the health crisis in the country, noting that he now believes that the country is experiencing “another variant of the virus” other than the Alpha variant.
He noted that some countries with advanced medical laboratory capabilities were noticing a surge in the Delta variant that originated in India.
“Those countries have the ability to conduct emergency gene sequencing to determine that they have the Delta variant,” he said. Health authorities in Liberia do not have the facilities or the capacity to regularly monitor the gene pool of COVID-19 virus samples to determine which variant of the virus is most prevalent. Samples usually have to be sent out of the country for testing and analysis before health authorities can make any determination.
Based on the high transmissibility of the virus now, compared with earlier waves, Kateh said there is a high probability that the Delta variant is now prevalent in the country. He promised to “determine which variant is driving the third wave after the sequencing results arrive.”
The presence of the Delta variant would explain the oxygen shortage health facilities across the country are suddenly facing. WHO’s June 22 situational report on the pandemic noted that a study from Singapore reported that infection with Delta variant was associated with higher odds of oxygen requirement, intensive care unit admission, or death. Another study from Japan showed that the Delta variant was more transmissible than the Alpha variant – both were more transmissible than the original virus.
By June 22, Liberia had 933 active COVID-19 cases, with 110 deaths. Between May and June, the average weekly number of new cases had jumped from 5 to 76, with active cases increasing by 1,300 percent.
Dr. Kateh said 11 of Liberia’s 15 counties are currently reporting COVID-19 cases. Sinoe, River Gee, Grand Kru, and Grand Gedeh have not reported any cases.
Featured photo by Zeze Ballah
