CTV News in Canada shows that there are reports of a new western-Canadian variant of COVID-19, but Dr. Hinshaw said it isn't a cause for concern.
It seems that 2 new types of the COVID-19 virus Delta plus variant are emerging in Western Canada.
The warning came during a physician town hall on November 4, when Dr. Jessica Minion, a medical microbiologist with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, told fellow doctors about two new variants of Delta called AY.25 and AY.27.
"This strain likely emerged in the USA, in the Midwest, but then once it came to Canada [...] it was noticeably different and quite separate," Minion said.
"When we say Canada we really mean Western Canada [...]. We warned people that uncontrolled spread is going to lead to evolution of the virus. You give it enough opportunities to pass through enough people you're going to get something unique to western Canada and this is what it is."
The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all coronaviruses is estimated to have existed as recently as 8000 BCE, although some models place the common ancestor as far back as 55 million years or more, implying long term coevolution with bat and avian species.
ReplyDeleteThe first known infections from SARS-CoV-2 were certainly discovered in Wuhan, China. The original source of viral transmission to humans remains unclear, as does whether the virus became pathogenic before or after the spillover event.
As of July 2021, there are four known dominant variants of SARS-CoV-2 spreading among global populations: the Alpha Variant (formerly called the UK Variant and officially referred to as B.1.1.7), first found in London and Kent, the Beta Variant (formerly called the South Africa Variant and officially referred to as B.1.351), the Gamma Variant (formerly called the Brazil Variant and officially referred to as P.1), and the Delta Variant (formerly called the India Variant and officially referred to as B.1.617.2).