UK coronavirus variant registered in 12 districts in Bulgaria

The UK variant of the coronavirus has already been detected in 12 districts in Bulgaria. Recent research by the Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases shows that the latest districts where the variant was registered are Vratsa, Yambol, Dobrich, Kyustendil and Veliko Tarnovo. The processing of the samples from Kyustendil district has proved that the more contagious mutation that first emerged in the UK has been in Bulgaria since at least the end of last year.

A new device is expected to start operating at the infectious diseases centre next week, which will allow more samples to be tested.

Until last week, the cases of the UK variant were registered mainly in Western Bulgaria. However, the situation has already changed. There are cases in both the central and eastern parts of the country. The largest number of people infected with it are in the capital city Sofia, but it is the metropolitan laboratories that send the most samples for sequencing.

There are samples from other districts, from Plovdiv and Kyustendil, Dobrich, Yambol, from Samokov, from Sofia district, Prof. Iva Hristova, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases explains.

101 cases of the UK variant have been confirmed so far. Due to the very small number of samples analysed for that - less than 200, at this stage no valid conclusions can be drawn about the scale of the spread of the virus variant. In addition, susceptible samples are tested, rather than a random percentage of positive for the virus.

We have to keep in mind that these are targeted studies; we have been specifically looking for these mutants. Much more research is needed, if it can actually be 5 to 10% of the positive samples, which is the the European Centre requirement for sequencing, adds Prof. Hristova.

At the moment this is technically impossible - the maximum capacity of the centre in Sofia is 96 samples per week. But that will change next week.

We are introducing a new methodology, a new device with which we can do at least 200 samples a week and even more, explained Prof. Hristova.

The samples studied so far do not show the spread of any of the other significant mutations of the virus.