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A strain of coronavirus first detected in Los Angeles, California appears to be spreading in the United States, although scientists are still studying the degree of transmissibility and virulence of the variant.
A team of researchers from Cedars-Sinai say the variant, called CAL.20C, was first discovered in July before starting to circulate rapidly in November and December. The results were published Thursday in a research letter from the JAMA Network, drawing on 185 samples analyzed out of a total of 2311. The team identified the variant in 36% of 185 samples.
“Since then, the prevalence of this variant has increased in the state of California and southern California, where as of January 22, 2021, it was respectively 35% (86 of 247) and 44% (37 of 85) of all samples collected in January, “reads a research letter.
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This variant was also found in 26 states, Washington DC and six countries, according to the study authors.
“The strain now accounts for almost half of the current cases of COVID-19 in southern California – almost double the percentage in the region compared to just a month ago, according to the Cedars-Sinai study” , reads a related release from Cedars-Sinai.
Last month, researchers said CAL.20C has been identified in more than a third of patients with COVID-19.
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“CAL.20C is moving, and we think Californians are moving it,” said Jasmine Plummer, researcher at Cedars-Sinai Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics, associate director of Applied Genomics, Computation & Translational Core at Cedars-Sinai and co-author of the study.
The statement noted that Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) handled some 2 million passengers per month in November and December, serving as “a key US gateway to a number of foreign destinations, including Australia and New Zealand. Zealand, where CAL.20C is found. “
Dr Eric Vail, assistant professor of pathology and director of molecular pathology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and co-lead author of the study, said the team was interested in the strain because it involves mutations along the spike protein, which the virus uses to infect healthy cells.
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The Cedars-Sinai team said results were limited due to a small set of local samples, but the discovery is still important for virus surveillance.
“As this study is limited to publicly accessible genome databases and a relatively small set of local samples, the possibility of collection bias cannot be ruled out. In addition, as clinical results have not yet been established, the functional effect of this strain on infectivity and disease severity remains unclear. Nonetheless, identification of this new strain is important for first-line and global surveillance of this evolving virus. “
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