The Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed the country’s first case of the Omicron variety.
This was stated in a press statement published by the centre and signed by Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, the Director-General.
Two cases of the variation were detected by genetic sequencing, according to Dr. Adetifa. He connected the cases to two South African travellers.
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“Genomic sequencing by the NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory in Abuja confirmed Nigeria’s first instance of the Omicron variation, in line with the standard travel tests required of all international travelers.”
“Genomic sequencing of positive cases from standard day-two testing for travelers to Nigeria found two cases of the Omicron variation among South Africans who arrived in Nigeria last week.”
He noted that “retrospective sequencing of previously confirmed cases among tourists to Nigeria also found the Omicron variant in samples collected in October 2021.”
The two patients were asymptomatic, he said, and contact tracing had begun.
Fears that the new strain will spread faster and be resistant to vaccines have generated worldwide worry. Following its discovery in South Africa, Omicron was first discovered in Europe on November 27, 2021, in Belgium. Other European countries with confirmed instances include Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. On November 28, 2021, Australia also reported cases.
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Similarly, the Canadian authorities announced that it had detected two cases of the variation in two Nigerian travellers.
However, the Federal Government has stated that it was investigating the problem through the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19.
Nigeria has now joined a group of nineteen countries worldwide that have the COVID-19 Omicron mutation, which the World Health Organization has labeled “a variant of concern.”
