Covid-19: Bulgaria reports case of Delta variant
A case of the Delta variant of Covid-19 has been confirmed in a patient in the Bulgarian city of Pleven, the Health Ministry said on June 17.
The statement described the patient as a man in the 20-30 age group, from Pleven, temporarily residing in the country.
The sample, taken in April, had been sequenced in May and did not show known variants of new coronavirus. In re-testing in June at the GISAID international gene bank, it was shown to be the Delta variant, formerly commonly known as the “Indian variant”.
The Health Ministry said that the patient had been examined at the Dr Georgi Stranski University Hospital, complaining of chest pain, fever and cough.
He had been diagnosed with Covid-19 and referred for home treatment.
The National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD) said that in the months of April and May, a total of 34 samples from the Pleven district were sequenced, in which no other case of Delta variant was detected.
The NCIPD was continuing to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the country, with an emphasis on seeking variants with accelerated spread, altered virulence and immunogenicity, which are of increased public health importance, the statement said.
The Ministry of Health urged the public to be vaccinated against Covid-19 because vaccines are the only means of preventing coronavirus variants.
The more people are vaccinated, the less likely the possibility of another wave in the country, the ministry said.
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