The director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr. Cillian de Gascun has announced that a case of the B1525 variant, which was first identified in December in the UK and Nigeria, has been confirmed in Ireland on Thursday night.
De Gascun said the reason they may be concerned about B1525 is because it has the amino acid E484K alteration, which has been linked to a lower response to neutralizing antibodies.
It also has a deletion in the spike protein, which has been linked to increased transmissibility.
RTE reports that there are now 15 cases of the variant that were first identified in South Africa and confirmed here. Most of the cases that Dr. De Gascun said were travel related, and some investigations are still ongoing.
The HSE has declared that this new ‘Nigerian’ strain is very concerning.
This story is developing.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.