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Both cases were women in their 30s who had typical mild to moderate flu-like symptoms and who did not become seriously ill or do not need hospitalization. In one case, the two identified variants had been circulating in Brazil since the start of the pandemic. In the other case, the person was simultaneously infected with both an older strain of the virus and the P.2 variant first identified in Rio de Janeiro.
The results, based on genomic sequencing analysis of 92 samples collected in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, will be published in the April edition of Virus Research, a scientific journal.
According to the study, co-infection raises the possibility of recombination of the genomes of the different strains, which can generate new variants of the coronavirus.
“Although there are a few reported cases of reinfection, the possibility of co-infection with E484K adds a new factor to the complex interaction between immune response systems and peak SARS-CoV-2 mutations,” reported wrote the authors.
The news comes as Brazil’s second wave once again plunges the country into crisis. The country recorded 2,233 new deaths linked to Covid-19 on Thursday and at least 272,889 people have died from the virus since the start of the pandemic.
Intensive care units and hospitals across the country are approaching capacity, and governors, state health secretaries and mayors are calling for more restrictive measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Sao Paulo state governor Joao Doria on Thursday announced new emergency lockdown measures in Brazil’s richest and most populous state.
“Brazil is falling apart,” he said in a video released moments before a press conference on the new measures – in stark contrast to the assurances of Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello , the day before.
“Our health system is severely impacted, but it has not collapsed or collapsed,” Pazuello said on Wednesday, attributing the increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the country “mainly to new variants of the coronavirus”.
During the same remarks, Pazuello also lowered expectations for Brazil’s vaccination campaign, estimating that 22 to 25 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine would be available throughout March – a sharp drop from forecast of February of the Ministry of Health of 46 million doses.
Meanwhile, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro – himself criticized for his government’s handling of the pandemic – continues to reject the lockdown measures, citing instead the health of the economy.
“How long will our economy hold up? If (the economy) collapses, it will be a shame. What will we have soon? Invasions of supermarkets, burning buses, strikes, pickets, shutdowns working, ”he said in a video conference with lawmakers. Thursday.
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