The new variant of the dreaded coronavirus currently ravaging the UK and EU has been reportedly discovered in Nigeria.
This is according to scientists at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), at the Redeemers University in Ede, Osun State.
The scientists said they found the same variant “lineage B. 1.1.7” existing in Osun state since August when they first collected the sample.
“the B.1.1.7 lineage we found in Nigeria, predating the one described in the UK, has also been observed to rise rapidly in the UK over the past four weeks, indicating the plausible increased spread of the virus by specific non-synonymous mutations in the spike protein…,” the report stated.
They disclosed this in a publication shared on Virological, a website for the global Genomics community, scientists at the Africa Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases at Ede.
