A significant number of youths have been infected with COVID-19, with a fair number being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, health experts said.
Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Immunology and Molecular Medicine Department Director Dr. Chandima Jeewandara said the spike in youth cases has been noted after the April New Year festive season.
According to the Daily Mirror, he said research is underway to identify the strain of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, with the B.1.411 Sri Lankan lineage, which is the predominant SARS-COV2 virus, being reported at present.
A rapid increase in the proportion of SARS-CoV-2 samples with undetectable S-gene target (S-gene target failure, SGTF) has also been observed for some real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing methods.
The E484K mutation, an escape mutation, which is known to occur independently in areas of high transmission, has also been found in the Sri Lankan lineage recently, he said.
Dr. Jeewandara warned that the E484K mutations have been identified in B.1.351 and B.1.1.28 variants, and it appears to threaten the efficacy of vaccines.
As a result, it was essential to carry out a mutation analysis to investigate the emergence of E484K mutation in SARS-CoV2 virus strains circulating in Sri Lanka, he said.
The health expert further pointed out that PCR kits were recently developed for full screening for SARS-CoV-2 and variants, including the five notable mutations in the S gene.
He said these PCR Kits are far cost-effective and rapid in detecting the emergence of mutation and new variants.
Dr. Jeewandara expressed hope that Sri Lanka will obtain the newly developed PCR kits within two days and accordingly, health authorities will commence testing from next Tuesday.
