MANILA, Philippines — Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases reported Friday that it has detected a new coronavirus variant in a man in his 60s from the Philippines who arrived in the country last February 25. The institute said the variant carries the mutations E484K, which may help the virus dodge antibodies, and N501Y, which may increase transmissibility. Related Stories Philippines detects coronavirus variant first found in countryIt added that the variant comes from the B.1.1.28 lineage, from which the variants first identified in Brazil and the Philippines also come from. “We do not know how widely this variant strain is spreading within the Philippines and whether this variant strain is associated with the recent increase in reported cases in the Philippines,” the Japanese institute said. The variant first identified in the Philippines, called P.3, has so far infected 98 people, according to the Department of Health.

Source: Philippine Star March 13, 2021 04:30 UTC