Coronavirus: Bawumia lavishes praise on Ghanaian scientists following new strides

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia would not let the current strides attained by a group of Ghanaian scientists go unnoticed as he showered praises on them.

A fortnight ago scientists at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), both at the University of Ghana, announced that they have obtained data from viral strains in 15 of confirmed Coronavirus cases in the country.

The discovery will go a long way to help make headway in understanding the virus variations present in the country, thereby, increasing the chances of developing a vaccine.

Taking to his Facebook page the vice president expressed his elation and pride at the new development.

“This is a major contribution to science in the fight against COVID-19 and something for which all Ghanaians should be proud of.

We have the capability and our research institutions do make significant contributions to science. We can do it if we put our minds to it!

I am proud of our scientists!” part of his post read.

According to the Director of the NMIMR, Prof Abraham Anang, the successful establishment of the sequencing capability, would strengthen surveillance for tracking mutations of the virus and aid in the tracing of the sources of community infections in people with no known contact with confirmed cases.



“The data tells us that, while there were some differences between the strains from the various countries, all the 15 genomes generally resembled (with >92% similarity) the reference strain that was isolated in the Wuhan Province of China, where the outbreak began,” part of a statement attributed to him reads.

“It is natural that pathogens will evolve as they encounter different environmental challenges, so we will need to continue monitoring to keep track with these changes and determine how they impact on the efficacy of potential drugs or vaccines that are being developed,” he added

Ghana recently got a surge in the number of confirmed cases of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Current figures stand at 408 infections with 8 deaths in 8 regions in the country.