Covid-19: Algeria facing the threat of variants

In May 3, the Pasteur Institute of Algeria announced the detection, for the first time, of the presence of the Indian variant of the coronavirus, in the wilaya (prefecture) of Tipaza, west of Algiers. Six cases have been recorded in this area.

Despite the disturbing discovery, the Institut Pasteur wanted to be reassuring, explaining that it was a variant of “subtype 2, which has differences compared to the hybrid mutant currently circulating in India. [absence de la mutation E484K] “, While specifying that it is classified by the WHO as” variant to follow “, unlike the” worrying “variants such as the British (180 cases identified in Algeria), the Nigerien (230 cases), the South African or Brazilian.

“The worry is there”

After investigation, it turns out that the Indian variant was imported by an Indian national, arrived in Algeria via Doha (Qatar) and working in a construction site in the city of Koléa (wilaya of Tipaza), according to the details of the ministry. of Health.

According to the health authorities of Tipaza, “the epidemiological investigations and medical analyzes concerned 60 people who carried out laboratory analyzes, before being placed in home confinement, while the confirmed cases were isolated and submitted to the hospital. ‘periodic medical observation by a specialized medical team’.
This discovery of a new variant comes at the height of the increase in cases of contamination: in one week, the bar of 200 cases was crossed, while the last few weeks had recorded a beginning of decline. “The concern is there, recognized the Minister of Health, Abderrahmane Benbouzid. We have gone down to less than 100 cases per day. In fact, it is not so much the numbers, it is the deaths, which may indicate that this virus although it is not very permanent, perhaps it is a virus that has acquired more than virulence, more dangerousness […] these ten deaths [par jour], it’s a lot. So the Pasteur Institute of Algeria is in the process of sequencing to have more knowledge on the nature of viruses. ”

Borders yet closed

Concern is setting in, as pressure increases on hospitals, especially in Algiers and in the east of the country where the British variant seems to be the most common. The authorities keep calling for more vigilance after weeks of relaxation. “The arrival of vaccines and the relative decline in cases of contamination have created a reassuring feeling among our compatriots,” said a source from the Ministry of Health. Especially since too much has been said about this collective immunity which, for the moment, seems credible but not yet supported by scientific evidence. ”

But beyond the concern about variants, a question arises in the debate: how is it that these cases are recorded when, officially, the borders remain closed, and have been for a little longer. of a year?

“Many Algerians have spoken, deploring that at a time when fellow citizens are stranded in Algeria and abroad, foreign workers continue to enter the national territory”, explains the daily Reporters.

“It is the result of non-compliance with the sanitary measures required around the world. We have supported maintaining the closure of borders with the strengthening of the health system precisely to prevent the entry of these variants and we have recommended the application of strict preventive measures, namely negative PCR on boarding, isolation of people entering Algeria for one week and a second control PCR at the end of confinement. Unfortunately, this was not carried out, apart from the negative PCR for a period not exceeding 72 hours, ”says Dr.^r Mohamed Yousfi, president of the Algerian Society of Infectious Diseases.

But for Professor Kamel Djenouhat, president of the Algerian Society of Immunology, “the Indian variant entered the country well before the total closure of the country. This variant cannot be identified at the level of a closed border post. In fact, this mutant, Indian or otherwise, is only detectable at the end of the sequencing operation which is carried out only at the Institut Pasteur ”. “Its analysis is based on the thesis based on the examination of the periods of discovery of this variant in India on October 5, 2020 and its entry into Europe”, comments the daily Freedom.