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Minnesota health officials on Monday announced the country’s first documented case of a variant coronavirus initially detected in Brazil.
The variant, known as P.1, was confirmed in a resident of the Twin Cities metropolitan area who had recently traveled to Brazil. The unnamed patient was ill the first week of January after returning from Brazil, and the sample was collected on January 9, officials said.
Case investigators advised the patient to self-isolate and quarantine household contacts.
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“Although this variant is considered to be more transmissible than the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, it is not yet known whether the variant causes more serious illness,” a statement from the health department reads. . “This case marks the first documented example of the Brazil P.1 variant in the United States.”
The case was detected through surveillance, which includes 50 random samples sent each week for whole genome sequencing.
The Brazil P.1 strain was recently identified in Manaus, a city in the northwestern Amazon. Researchers say the variant was circulating there in December. The strain contains three mutations, E484K, K417T and N501Y, similar to a variant initially detected in South Africa – which would have “escaped” the neutralizing power of antibodies in convalescent plasma treatment.
Moderna on Monday pledged confidence in the ability of its COVID-19 vaccine to remain effective against emerging strains of the virus, namely the South African and British variants, following the results of a study still under review by peers.
Pfizer and BioNTech have previously trusted the ability of their COVID-19 vaccines to protect against new variants. Earlier in January, the companies published a yet-to-peer-review study that showed jab remained effective against British and South African strains.
The United States has struggled with surveillance for variant strains; the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have documented 293 cases of a distinct highly transmissible variant first detected in the UK, called B.1.1.7, although the CDC projects that this variant could become the dominant strain in United States by March. British officials also recently said the tension could be deadlier.
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Meanwhile, Minnesota health officials reported two more cases of the British strain on Monday, for a total of eight; the most recent CDC figures list five variant cases in Minnesota.
The two new cases were found among residents of Twin Cities who recently traveled to California, which has among the highest number of variant cases reported nationwide.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said mitigation measures may slow the spread of “all variants of COVID-19,” including wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
“These cases illustrate why it is so important to limit travel as much as possible during a pandemic,” state epidemiologist Dr Ruth Lynfield said in the statement. “If you must travel, it is important to watch for symptoms of COVID-19, follow public health advice on pre-travel screening, take cautious protective measures while traveling, quarantine, and yourself. get tested after the trip. “
Alexandria Hein of Fox News contributed to this report.
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