NO LAB TO ASSESS COVID-19 VARIANTS IN ESWATINI

MBABANE - It may take a while for government to know if some emaSwati have the Indian variant of COVID-19.

This is because there is no skill for genomic sequencing laboratories in the country. This was revealed yesterday by Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula, while discussing why there was no laboratory in the country to assess the type of variants relating to COVID-19. Currently, the country depends on the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. (NICD) in South Africa to do the genomic sequencing. Genomic sequencing is the activity that reveals the biological make out of organisms, including COVID-19 variants. To carry out genomic sequencing, a Biosafety Level-4 (referred to as BSL-4) is required. “A BSL-4 laboratory requires certain advanced skills which we may not have in employment in the country. Such a lab costs a lot of money to make as it requires special skills and infrastructure,” said Dr Magagula.

Arrangement

Dr Magagula also said the country, through the World Health Organisation, made an arrangement with the NICD lab in Pretoria where the genomic sequencing was done. Meanwhile, the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi said they were still working on having the said laboratory in the country. “We have genomic sequencing for TB, we are still hard at work on the COVID-19 one,” said Nkosi. Also, after almost a week of speculation, it has been confirmed that the India variant is in South Africa. This was made public on Saturday night by the neighbouring country’s Department of Health after four people tested positive for the India variant. The variant in India is believed to be highly infectious, hence the spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths in that country. On Saturday only, India recorded 403 405 COVID-19 cases.

According to eNCA, the Department of Health confirmed that the variant dominant in India had been detected in South Africa. “Four people living in South Africa have tested positive for the variant. A further 11 people have tested positive for the variant first detected in the UK. Of the four people who tested positive, two are in Gauteng and the other two are in KwaZulu-Natal and have a history of a recent arrival from India. “According to the health department, all the cases have been isolated and managed according to the national COVID-19 case management guidelines. Contact tracing is also being conducted,” said the eNCA. Worth noting is that Eswatini and South Africa are within close proximity and there is vibrant trade and travel between the two countries, making Eswatini highly susceptible to the Indian variant.

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