Malaysia

[UPDATED] Covid-19: 9 cases of South African B.1.351 strain in M’sia

Variant first identified among 4 local infections last month, says health DG

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 01 Apr 2021 9:05PM

[UPDATED] Covid-19: 9 cases of South African B.1.351 strain in M’sia — Other than Malaysia, the South African B.1.351 Covid-19 variant has also been reported in other countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia and South Korea. – Pixabay pic, April 1, 2021

KUALA LUMPUR – Nine Covid-19 cases of the South African B.1.351 variant, which was first identified among four local cases last month, have been detected in Malaysia, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said initial investigations found that the four cases have geographical links and close relations with the Jalan Lima Cluster as shown in the phylogenetic analysis.

“Two cases are believed to have originated from the Jalan Lima cluster involving workers of a Kuala Lumpur International Airport-based company. But, it is difficult to identify and verify the B.1.351 variant’s mode of transmission to these workers.

“One case is from the Kebun Baru cluster, and another is a family member to a Covid-19 patient, who is living in the same house.”

Following the first discovery of the strain, Dr Noor Hisham said more genome sequencing has been carried out using positive samples from geographical locations, including in Kuala Langat and Sepang.

He said test findings revealed that five more cases from the localities have been infected with the strain, of which four are from the Kebun Baru cluster and the fifth from the Jalan Lima cluster.

The Institute for Medical Research has identified and verified the presence of the B.1.351 variant among local Covid-19 cases via genomic surveillance, he added, saying that the strategy involves samples that are confirmed positive with the coronavirus from January this year until March 31.

“It involves positive cases from local clusters in Selangor, Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, as well as cases with history of travelling abroad and deaths due to Covid-19.”

He said the B.1.351 variant was first detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa in December last year.

Since early this year, the presence of the strain has also been reported in other countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia and South Korea. – Bernama, April 1, 2021