Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Descubren nueva cepa de virus mutado posiblemente más contagioso

New strain of mutated virus discovered is possibly more contagious

Southeast Asia is facing a strain of the new coronavirus that the Philippines – a country with the largest outbreak in the region – is studying to see, if the mutation makes it more infectious.

The strain, previously seen in other parts of the world and called D614G, was discovered in an outbreak of 45 cases in Malaysia that began with someone who returned from India and violated their 14-day home quarantine. The Philippines detected the strain among random samples of covid-19 in the largest city in its capital region.

The mutation could have a greater possibility of transmission, but we still don't have enough solid evidence to say that will happen, Philippine Undersecretary of Health María Rosario Vergeire said at a virtual press conference on Monday.

The mutation has been found in many other countries and has become the predominant variant in Europe and the United States, although the World Health Organization says there is no evidence that the strain leads to more serious disease. The mutation has also been detected in recent outbreaks in China.

There is no epidemiological evidence that the mutation is considerably more infectious than other strains, said Benjamin Cowling, chief of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong.

It is more commonly identified now than in the past, suggesting that it might have some kind of competitive advantage over other covid-19 strains, he noted.

Southeast Asian countries are taking a number of steps to prevent a resurgence while resuming a limited number of trips, and they must deal with people violating quarantine rules after returning from abroad and with false negative test results at borders.

The man who returned from India had tested negative when he arrived in Malaysia. He was later sentenced to five months in prison and fined for violating the quarantine.

Citizen cooperation

People should be cautious and take more precautions for this strain that has now been found in Malaysia, wrote the country's Health Director-General, Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a Facebook post, saying - without citing studies - that the strain can make it 10 times more infectious. The cooperation of people is very necessary so that together we can break the chain of infection of the mutation.

The strain could be a little more contagious. We still don't have enough evidence to assess that, but there is no evidence that it is much more contagious, said Cowling of the University of Hong Kong.

Noor Hisham cautioned that the strain could indicate the possibility that existing vaccine studies are incomplete or ineffective against the mutation, despite a report published in Cell Press that the mutation is unlikely to have a major impact on efficacy of the vaccines that are currently being developed.

While Malaysia has largely managed to avoid a resurgence of the virus that has affected other parts of the world, the number of new cases found in the country has been increasing. The country reported 26 new cases on Saturday, the highest number since July 28.

Confirmed cases in the Philippines have risen 76% since the end of July to a total of 164,474 as of Monday. The country surpassed Indonesia more than a week ago as the nation with the largest outbreak in Southeast Asia.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×