More infectious strain of coronavirus detected in San Bernardino County – San Bernardino Sun

Health officials have confirmed the presence of a more contagious variant of the novel coronavirus in San Bernardino County, authorities said on Friday January 1.

The B117 strain of COVID-19 was detected on December 20 in samples taken from two residents of a Big Bear area home, San Bernardino County officials said in a press release. A person in the infected household came into contact with a traveler who returned from the UK on December 11 and then developed symptoms three days later.

The newly spotted variant of the coronavirus in San Bernardino County was first reported in the UK and may have been circulating there since September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has become widespread in the UK and has been attributed to 60% of all COVID-19 infections in London since November.

The B117 strain “appears to spread more easily and faster,” said Dr. Michael Sequeria, San Bernardino County health official. It contains a protein that facilitates the binding and adhesion of the mutated pathogen to an enzyme found in human cells.

Researchers are striving to learn more about the more infectious version of COVID-19. Health officials have not gathered any evidence to suggest that it causes more serious illness in patients or may be less resistant to vaccines.

“Based on what we know from experience with this and other mutations, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on vaccine-induced immunity or on existing immunity of previous strains,” Greg Armstrong, director of the CDC’s advanced molecular detection program, said in a conference call Wednesday, December 30.