Day: December 4, 2021

JOHANNESBURG — The Botswana scientist who may well have discovered the omicron variant of the coronavirus says he has been on a “roller coaster of emotions,” with the pride of accomplishment followed by dismay over the travel bans immediately slapped on southern African countries.

“Is that how you reward science? By blacklisting countries?” Dr. Sikhulile Moyo, a virologist at the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.

“The virus does not know passports, it does not know borders,” he added. “We should not do geopolitics about the virus. … We should be collaborating and understanding.”

Moyo was doing genomic sequencing of COVID-19 samples at his lab in Botswana two weeks ago and noticed three cases that seemed dramatically different, with an unusual pattern showing multiple mutations. He continued studying the results and by early last week, decided to publicly release the data on the internet.

Soon scientists in South Africa said they had made the same findings. And an identical case in Hong Kong was also identified.

A new coronavirus variant had been discovered, and soon the World Health Organization named it omicron. It has now been identified in 38 countries and counting, including much of Western Europe and the United States. And the U.S. and many other nations have imposed flight restrictions to try to contain the emerging threat.

Speaking from his lab in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, Moyo bristled at being described as the man who first identified omicron.

“Scientists should work together and the ‘who first did that’ syndrome should go. We should all be able to be proud that we all contributed in one way or the other,” said the 48-year-old scientist.

In fact, he noted that the variant was found to be something entirely new only by comparing it to other viruses online in a public database shared by scientists.

“The only way you can really see that you see something new is when you compare with millions of sequences. That’s why you deposit it online,” he said.

The Zimbabwe-born Moyo — who is also a research associate at Harvard’s school of public health, a married father of three, and a gospel singer — expressed pride in the way he and his international colleagues were transparent about their findings and sounded the alarm to the rest of the world.

“We’re excited that we probably gave a warning signal that may have averted many deaths and many infections,” he said.

Omicron startled scientists because it had more than 50 mutations.

“It is a big jump in the evolution of the virus and has many more mutations that we expected,” said Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Center for Epidemic Response and Innovation in South Africa, who taught Moyo when he was earning his Ph.D. in virology from South Africa’s Stellenbosch University.

Little is known about the variant, and the world is watching nervously. It’s not clear if it makes people more seriously ill or can evade the vaccine. But early evidence suggests it might be more contagious and more efficient at re-infecting people who have had a bout with COVID-19.

In the coming weeks, labs around the world will be working to find out what to expect from omicron and just how dangerous it is.

“What is important is collaboration and contribution,” Moyo said. “I think we should value that kind of collaboration because it will generate great science and great contributions. We need each other, and that’s the most important.”

South Africa is seeing a dramatic surge in infections that may be driven by omicron. The country reported more than 16,000 new COVID-19 cases Friday, up from about 200 per day in mid-November.

The number of omicron cases confirmed by genetic sequencing in Botswana has grown to 19, while South Africa has recorded more than 200. So far, most of the cases are in people who did not get vaccinated.

“I have a lot of hope from the data that we see, that those vaccinated should be able to have a lot of protection,” Moyo said. “We should try to encourage as many people to get vaccinated as possible.”

Moyo warned that the world “must go to a mirror and look at themselves” and make sure Africa’s 1.3 billion people are not left behind in the vaccination drive.

He credited earlier research and investment into fighting HIV and AIDS with building Botswana’s capacity for doing genetic sequencing. That made it easier for researchers to switch to working on the coronavirus, he said.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, Moyo finds some cause for optimism.

“What gives me hope is that the world is now speaking the same language,” said Moyo, explaining that the pandemic has seen a new global commitment to scientific research and surveillance.

He added that the pandemic has also been a wake-up call for Africa.

“I think our policymakers have realized the importance of science, the importance of research,” Moyo said. “I think COVID has magnified, has made us realize that we need to focus on things that are important and invest in our health systems, invest in our primary health care.”

He added: “I think it’s a great lesson for humanity.”

Source: Voice of America

GENEVA — The U.N. refugee agency has expressed outrage at the sharp rise in deadly attacks by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri and South Kivu provinces.

Dozens of people have been killed and scores wounded in the last month in a series of raids on sites harboring displaced people. The latest incident took place Sunday at Ndjala, a site for displaced people in the Drodro health zone in Ituri province.

Local authorities say 10 women, and nine children were killed and 11 people wounded. They say men used guns, machetes and knives during their killing spree.

A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, Boris Cheshirkov, says the attack was preceded by a series of grisly assaults against unarmed civilians who were displaced by previous atrocities.

“And what we have seen just in the span of several weeks is an increase in the number and frequency of attacks,” Cheshirkov said. “And these are brutal attacks. At the end of these attacks, we have the bodies of women, of children, of families. And whole communities are torn apart.”

About 120 armed groups reportedly operate in eastern DRC. Media reports put the blame for the recent attacks on fighters from the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, known as CODECO.

The group is composed mainly of people from the Lendu farming community. Decades of inter-communal, ethnic conflicts between Lendu agriculturalists and Hema pastoralists have resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.

Cheshirkov says the recent clashes have uprooted thousands of people living in locations that are housing displaced people. For example, he notes a deadly attack on November 21 in villages in Drodro and Tche forced some 20,000 inhabitants to flee for safety to Rhoe, a site near a U.N. military base.

“The site doubled in size from 21,000 to 40,500 people in just 48 hours, forcing the newly arrived families to sleep in the open,” Cheshirkov said. “The main needs are food, shelter and health care, as well as psychosocial assistance.”

??he UNHCR is calling on all parties to stop the attacks on displaced communities and to treat those facilities as sanctuaries for people who are forced to flee their homes.

The agency is appealing for greater financial support, adding it has received only 52 percent of the $205 million needed for its lifesaving operation in the DRC.

Source: Voice of America

BAMAKO, MALI — Suspected militants killed at least 30 civilians in an attack on a passenger vehicle in central Mali’s volatile Mopti, local officials said Saturday.

“The passengers were sprayed with bullets and the vehicle was torched,” during an attack by “terrorists” near the town of Bandiagara on Friday, the officials told AFP.

“The state has sent security forces to the scene,” they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An elected official in Bandiagara confirmed the death toll, saying the victims included women and children.

The attack has not been claimed by any of the numerous armed groups active in the West African country.

Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that first erupted in the north in 2012 and has since claimed thousands of military and civilian lives.

Despite the presence of thousands of French and U.N. troops, the conflict has engulfed central Mali and spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Central Mali has become one of the most violent hotspots of the Sahel-wide conflict, where ethnic killings and attacks on government forces are frequent.

A military coup last year, brought about after mass protest against the ongoing violence, has failed to stem the bloodshed.

Source: Voice of America