Experts sound alarm over rising COVID-19 variant cases in UK

With a reported resurgence of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom (U.K.), health experts are urging Kenyans to remain vigilant.
Although several cases have been reported, the specific variant is still unknown. Experts say the virus could be a new strain or a mutation of existing ones.

Prof Omu Anzala, a virologist (virus specialist) at the University of Nairobi, said the disease is still active in Kenya and globally.

“Covid-19 has never been contained, it has been circulating, though people do not get that sick. SARS-COV-2 has never gone,” Anzala told The Standard in an interview.

COVID-19 is a respiratory infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. According to the World Health Organisation, at least 150,503 cases have occurred in the past 28 days.

Respective continents reporting the cases include Africa, the Americas, Europe, the  Western Pacific, South-East Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

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The U.K. has reported at least 232,112 cases, numbers that are on the rise, with more than 24,974,629 cases having been reported since 2020 during the peak of the pandemic.

As reported by international media, the Mirror, Public Health Agency, the variant dubbed NB.1.8.1 is circulating in Northern Ireland.

Though symptoms differ from one individual to another, doctors have reported unusual symptoms as compared to other variants witnessed in the past, for example, heartburn.

If not contained, Prof Anzala said the variant might spill to Kenya, as any disease is a global concern.

“When it happened in China, was it a concern to us? Let me tell you, if you see any problem in any corner of the world, it is a concern, especially infections that are directly human-to-human like flu, influenza, M-Pox, and Marburg, among other diseases,” said Anzala.

He added, “It (the one reported in the UK) could be a new strain that we do not have, it could have mutated, whatever is now emerging in Europe and North America could be a new strain of SARS-COV-2 that we may not have immunity to. It might be a mutated strain that we do not have immunity to, and therefore we should and must be concerned.”

Doctors in the U.K. also questioned if it is time to wear a face mask, a tool that highly helped prevent the spread of the disease during its peak in 2020 and 2021.

Data by the Ministry of Health shows that at least 5,689 Kenyans have died of COVID-19.

Dr Geoffrey Kulabusia, an immunologist, said that by the time of relaxation, Kenya had not vaccinated its larger population.

The laxity was attributed to misinformation on infertility, and also a shortage of vaccines, whereas the majority of Kenyans did not pick up booster vaccines.

“We had whining off of immunity, which is likely to trigger infections, in case we have a spike of cases reported in the U.K.,” said Kulabusia.

Whereas Kenya loosened public health measures namely wearing face masks, social distance, sanitising, adhering to social distancing and vaccination, experts say there is a need to revive some.

Anzala, Some of the preventive measures, he says, include wearing a face mask, more so in crowded places like matatus.

Individuals visiting hospitals are also encouraged to wear masks, including healthcare providers, to prevent spreading the virus, in case a case is detected.

Individuals who have never received the COVID-19 jab are also encouraged to receive it as a way of creating herd immunity that reduces hospitalisation and deaths.

“Anybody presenting flu-like symptoms, we encourage testing, test for influenza, SARS-COV-2, respiratory disease, and encourage masking in hospitals. Patients as well as healthcare professionals, and visitors should wear masks. We also need to encourage masking in public places like matatus. We recommend booster shots, especially those with co-morbidities, the elderly, and pregnant women," said Anzala.

He further encouraged testing for COVID-19, an initiative that has since been relaxed.

“We do not know the variant circulating in the U.K. and Europe. As we wait for more sequencing, we need to be vigilant back here because a person in the U.K., in the evening they will be in Nairobi.

We just need to be on top of things because we do not know yet the variant that will be reported or emerge. But even if it emerges, we also need to be on top of things, more so in the community, even if people are not getting sick, we need to be keen,” he said.

By the time of the relaxing measures, at least 18,608,768 Kenyans had been vaccinated.

Prof Anzala said vaccinations should continue, with added surveillance to monitor different strains. 

There are currently four strains of the COVID-19 virus in Kenya: Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron.

Globally, a new strain named Kraken (XBB.1.5), a combination of Omicron BA.2 and Delta, is circulating, according to the WHO.

In Kenya, there has been a complaint of flu among the population, which experts encourage testing and booster vaccines.

“Everyone is suffering from the flu; we need to know if it is related to the COVID-19 strain,” said Kulabusia.

Sadly, he said there has been a culture of individuals not seeking care whenever they acquire the flu as they treat it as a normal ‘homa’.

“Let them test for influenza, RSV, SARS-COV-2 so that they know what exactly is the issue, let us not just ignore it saying it is ‘homa kali’. People should take ‘homa kali’ seriously because if you are infected as an individual, you will die alone; death is finality.

“If a disease kills 10 people, and you want to be alive, will you survive? It’s concerning that people only take action when a disease kills 50 or more, but the real question is – do you want to be one of them?”

 “We don’t want anyone to die from something preventable or from a disease we can stop from spreading. Let’s not take health warnings lightly, especially those involving human-to-human transmission,” the researcher emphasised.