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Florida has emerged as the United States’ new “ super-COVID ” hotspot, leading the country in known cases.
At least 46 cases of the highly contagious variant first identified in the UK have been found in the Sunshine State, more than double the original figure of 22.
This happened just 20 days after the first case was identified on New Years Eve.
It is feared that the new strain, B 1.1.7., Is up to 70% more transmissible and spreads more easily in children.
It happens the same day that 13 cases have been identified by a laboratory in North Carolina, which has not reported any cases of the variant today.
This means that nearly 150 Americans have been infected with the strain since the first case was identified late last year.
Recently, University of Arizona researchers say it may have happened in the United States six weeks earlier than expected.
The team says the variant may have been behind a cluster of cases in California that date back to November 6 and another that performed in Florida on November 23.
Additionally, a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) found that 60 counties around the world are now reporting cases of the variant.
At least 146 Americans in 21 states have been infected with the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus first detected in the UK
A new WHO report found that B 1.1.7. was detected in 60 countries (yellow and stripes), 10 more nations than seven days ago
There are currently 146 cases in 21 U.S. states, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of federal and state data.
This includes at least 46 cases in Florida; 40 in California; 13 in North Carolina; six in Colorado; five in Minnesota; four each in Indiana and New York; two each in Connecticut, Maryland and Texas; and one each in Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The North Carolina cases are the most recent identified by MAKO Medical Laboratories, which has two sites in Henderson and the third in Raleigh.
“Our results show that the mutation has started to spread across the United States,” Steve Hoover, vice president of laboratory operations at MAKO Medical, said in a statement.
“We are in constant communication with public health officials to keep them informed and updated.
Florida, however, leads the country in cases at 46.
Dr. Marco Salemi, a University of Florida professor and molecular biologist, told the Miami Herald is calling on the state and the federal government to expand surveillance of the new variant.
“We know it’s in Florida,” he said.
‘What percentage [of cases] is impossible to say. The genomes available to us were probably collected before or at the very beginning of the introduction of [the variant] in Florida. ‘
The Florida Department of Health has only sequenced about 3,000 samples so far.
Last week, the CDC released a report predicting that the new variant will become the predominant strain by March 2021.
This led President Joe Biden to seek more funding for the virus’s genetic sequencing efforts at the federal level.
Meanwhile, in his weekly update released on Tuesday, the WHO announced said B 1.1.7. is now in 10 more countries than seven days ago.
Counties outside the UK to report variant cases include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan , Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the United States.
The WHO report also mentions close cousins of the variant that were first identified in South Africa and Brazil.
The South African variant has now been identified in 23 countries, three more nations than 10 days ago.
The strain first appeared in the south-east of England in October in the county of Kent and quickly became the dominant strain in Britain.
This led to a massive spike in infections with one in 30 Londoners infected and plunging the country into a third lockdown.
In a recent statement, Dr Ashish K Jha, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health, said Urgent aggressive action is needed to limit the spread of new strains, as many health systems experience severe bed and resource shortages.
“This new, more infectious variant will change the underlying dynamics of the pandemic, with an exponential growth in infections making the virus much more difficult to contain and overloading our stressed health system.
“The US healthcare system is already reeling under the burden of the pandemic caused by the current (old) strain,” he wrote.
But, perhaps more importantly, Jha says nationwide vaccination efforts need to be stepped up.
Gigi Gronvall, immunologist and principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, agrees.
“ I don’t think anyone thinks this variant is why we had such terrible numbers in the US, but it’s not a good indicator when you look at if things could get even worse. ” , she told Miami. Herald.
“So we need to get vaccines up and running as quickly as possible.
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