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A variant of the new coronavirus that first appeared in southern California last summer has now spread to more than a dozen U.S. states and several other countries, according to a new study.
The variant, known as CAL.20C, was first detected in a single case in Los Angeles County in July 2020, but it did not reappear in Southern California until October 2020, according to the study published Thursday (February 11). ) in the newspaper JAMA. Then, cases of the variant skyrocketed in the Los Angeles area, coinciding with the region’s winter surge in overall coronavirus cases.
Today, CAL.20C accounts for nearly half of the cases of COVID-19 in Southern California and about a third of the cases in the state based on an analysis of viral genomes published in a global database called GISAID.
Additionally, researchers found that by the end of January, the variant had spread to 19 other states, up from five states by November 2020. It has also spread beyond the United States to six. other countries – Australia, Denmark, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Researchers suspect travelers from Southern California are spreading the variant elsewhere. “CAL.20C is moving, and we think Californians are moving it,” said Jasmine Plummer, co-lead author of the study, researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said in a press release.
The CAL.20C variant – also known as B.1.429 – is defined by five distinct mutations, three of which are in the virus spike protein, the structure that allows the virus to bind to and infect human cells.
Despite the apparent increase in the variant in Southern California, scientists are still unsure whether CAL.20C is more contagious than other strains of coronavirus. The variant may have become more common simply by chance, rather than having an inherent biological advantage, according to The New York Times.
The researchers also noted that their study’s analysis was limited to samples included in publicly available databases as well as around 2,300 samples from their hospital, and they could not rule out “collection bias”. which means that samples may have been collected from some populations but not others.
However, the variant has a disturbing mutation known as L452R. This genetic mutation is in a gene that codes for the so-called receptor binding domain (RBD), a place on the spike protein where the virus is first found on human cells. Mutations in this area could in theory allow the virus to spread more easily, Previously reported Live Science.
California health officials last month expressed concern about a variant with the L452R mutation because it had been identified in several large outbreaks in Santa Clara County, Previously reported Live Science.
Cedars-Sinai researchers continue to study CAL.20C to determine whether it is more contagious, more severe, or better able to resist current vaccines, compared to other strains.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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