New COVID-19 strain discovered in US even more contagious

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A new variant of the coronavirus has been discovered in the United States and appears to be even more contagious than the previously discovered South African and British strain, two studies have revealed.

In the first study, scientists at the University of Southern Illinois identified a third U.S. variant of COVID-19, which may be the most contagious strain to date, researchers said Thursday, adding that it is believed to be responsible for up to 50% of all cases in the United States.

“It’s here. We found it,” said Keith Gagnon, associate professor of biochemistry at SIU Carbondale who discovered the new variant, called 20C-US.

“It’s definitely domestically grown and widespread, and we’re the first to characterize it,” said Gagnon, adding that its impact on vaccines is uncertain.

The local mutation primarily hits the Midwest, researchers said in a press release, revealing that they had traced the strain to Texas, where it apparently first appeared in May.

“We have identified a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that appeared in the United States at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and has become one of the most prevalent variants in the United States,” the statement said. “It may be more easily transmitted than other variants, and its impact on vaccines is uncertain,” the study said.

The findings came to light a day after scientists at Wexner Medical Center and the College of Medicine at Ohio State University discovered the new variant of SARS-Cov-2, identical to the British strain, but probably from a virus strain already present in the United States. .
The researchers also reported the evolution of another American strain, 20C-US, which acquired three other genetic mutations never seen before together in SARS-CoV2.

The results of the 20C-US study were published in the online journal bioRxiv.org Wednesday.

“The big question is whether these mutations will make current vaccines and treatment approaches less effective,” said Peter Mohler, study co-author and scientific director of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and associate dean of research at the College of Medicine. “At this stage, we have no data to suggest that these mutations will have an impact on the effectiveness of the vaccines currently in use.”

“It’s important that we don’t overreact to this new variant until we get additional data,” Mohler said. “We need to understand the impact of mutations on virus transmission, the prevalence of the strain in the population and whether it has a more significant impact on human health.”

“In addition, it is essential that we continue to monitor the evolution of the virus, so that we can understand the impact of mutant forms on the design of both diagnoses and therapies. It is essential that we make informed decisions. on the best science. ”

Scientists said the discovery of the Columbus variant, COH.20G / 501Y, suggests that the same mutation could occur independently in several parts of the world in recent months.

“Viruses naturally mutate and evolve over time, but the changes seen over the past two months have been more significant than in the early months of the pandemic,” Jones said. His team has performed Ohio State gene sequencing on environmental and patient SARS-CoV2 samples, and he will continue to monitor for changes as vaccination occurs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week they had not seen the emergence of a new, highly contagious U.S. variant of the coronavirus. He noted, however, that there are likely many variations emerging around the world.



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