In the Algarve, 25 cases of straining the Delta variant of Covid-19, which is increasing in the UK, have been detected. Of the 38 cases detected in Portugal, 25 were identified in the Algarve region, according to information released this Tuesday by the INSA.
According to the weekly report on the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, which causes the Covid-19 disease, prepared by the National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), there was an increase in the circulation of this subline in Portugal a from week 42 (October 18th to 24th), revealing a relative frequency that tends to increase from 1,8% (week 42) to 2,9% in week 44 (November 1st to 7th, provisional value).
In total, 38 cases associated with this underline have been detected so far, which has aroused particular interest in the international scientific community due to its increasing prevalence in the United Kingdom.
The INSA said that in weeks 42 and 43 (between 18 and 31 October) there was a relative frequency of 100% and 99,8%, respectively, for the Delta variant, originally detected in India and considered to be more transmissible.
In the week from 1st to 7th of November, despite the Delta variant presenting a relative frequency of 100%, this value is provisional as the data is still being calculated, the report emphasizes.
The only “non-Delta” sequence detected in the week of 18 to 31 October refers to a case, detected in the North Region, associated with the 'Mu' variant, “with great expansion in Colombia”.
The 11.442 Delta sequences analyzed in Portugal to date are divided into almost 100 sublines, as a result of the recent update of the nomenclature, which allowed “greater discrimination of the analyzed sequences”, according to the INSA report.
“Of this continuous monitoring, the current circulation of several sublineages of the Delta variant in Portugal stands out, with 27 of these being detected consecutively in the last three weeks or in the current week under analysis”, he adds.
The report also states that no case was detected associated with the Gamma variant, originally detected in Manaus, Brazil, since week 37 (13-19 September), a situation similar to the Beta variant, originating in South Africa, which is not detected from week 29 (July 19th to 25th).
Since April 2020, INSA has been developing the “Study of the genetic diversity of the new SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) coronavirus in Portugal”, which aims to identify and monitor transmission chains, as well as identify new introductions of the virus in Portugal.
To date, 20.923 sequences of the genome of the new coronavirus, obtained from samples collected in more than 100 laboratories, hospitals and institutions in the country, representing 303 municipalities in Portugal, have been analyzed.
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