Testing in a refugee camp in Sicily has revealed that a 16-year-old illegal immigrant was infected with the Nigerian variant of the coronavirus.
The main feature of the new variant is that its resistance to vaccinations is unknown. It’s arrived in Italy with a Nigerian migrant who recently made landfall in Sicily. First, he was quartered in a local reception centre before he escaped with a friend of the same age. Luckily, police have managed to find the 16-year-old boy, who was unaware that he was infected with the new strain of the coronavirus.
The new variant was detected by the diagnostic laboratory at the University Polyclinic of Messina. As authorities know very little about the new, Nigerian variant, Italy has been put on alert both because of the existing migratory pressure and the emergence of the new, mutant variants. Nigeria, where the almost unknown virus variant has emerged, has yet to launch its nationwide vaccination campaign.
Researchers at the diagnostic lab in Messina are now focusing on the evolution of this alarming, new virus variant. As the examinations are still in the experimental phase, all positive cases must be quarantined immediately to prevent the spread of the virus. The 16-year-old Nigerian teen was isolated in the clinic’s infectious diseases department, while the other youngster was transferred to Villa Contino Hospital.
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