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Two studies set to be released soon raise concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus that scientists are monitoring in California.
They suggest that the variant might not only be more contagious, but also cause more serious illness. The research is in its very early stages, has not been published or peer reviewed, and needs more work, the researchers said.
A team from the University of California at San Francisco tested virus samples from recent outbreaks across California and found that it was becoming much more common. It was not seen in any September samples, but by the end of January it was found in half of the samples.
This variant, which the team calls B.1.427 / B.1.429, exhibits a different pattern of mutations than the variants first seen in the UK, called B.1.1.7 and in South Africa, called B .1.351. A mutation, called L452R, affects the virus spike protein, which is the bit that attaches to cells infected with the virus.
“A specific mutation, the L452R mutation, in the receptor binding domain of the spike protein can allow the virus to anchor itself to cells more efficiently. Our data shows that this is probably the key mutation that makes this variant more infectious, ”Dr. Charles Chiu, associate director of the UCSF Clinical Microbiology Lab, who led one of the studies, told CNN.
And they’ve found evidence that it’s more dangerous.
“In this study, we observed an increased severity of disease associated with the B.1.427 / B.1.429 infection, including an increased risk of high oxygen requirements,” they wrote in their report, which is due to publish on a pre-print server later this week health officials in San Francisco are reviewing it.
Chiu said it should be identified as a variant of concern and should be considered a study priority.
A second team from Unidos en Salud, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that offers rapid testing in the Mission District of San Francisco, tested 8,846 people during the month of January and sequenced the virus from 630 some samples. They also saw a rapid increase in the variant.
“Research results indicate that the L452R variant accounts for 53% of positive test samples collected between January 10 and 27. This is a significant increase from November, when our sequencing indicated that this variant represented only 16% of positive tests, ”said Dr. Diane Havlir, infectious disease specialist at UCSF who helps lead the study, in a press release.
Havlir’s team is also preparing its results for publication.
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