Gravediggers bury a Covid-19 victim while surrounded by family members at Nossa Senhora Aparecida Cemetery in Manaus on Jan. 13.
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
Brazilian researchers warn that a new strain of coronavirus spotted a few days ago could exacerbate an outbreak in Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon rainforest.
Experts are willing to divert the rise in cases leaving Manaus hospitals with no available beds and oxygen bound to the new strain, but has not yet been able to confirm the suspicion. While the variant appears to be more transmissible, half a dozen researchers say there aren’t enough studies to say it’s responsible for the faster spread, and no evidence that it causes a more severe form of the Covid-19.
“We suspect it is more transmissible, based on data we have from the strains in the UK and South Africa,” said Felipe Naveca, a researcher at Fiocruz Amazonia who contributed to the sequence of the virus’ genome. “But the Manaus variety has many more mutations than the others.”
On Friday, Fiocruz confirmed a case of reinfection from a new strain: a 29-year-old woman who was first diagnosed in March and received a second diagnosis of the coronavirus on December 30.
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The new variant has not yet been found in other parts of Brazil, although researchers are only seeing it for a matter of time. It was first discovered in Japan in four people who returned from Manaus last weekend.
Immunity Doubts
Brazilian scientists have also found strains in Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. Fernando Spilki, a virology professor who has been working on an initiative to sequence virus genomes, says “three or four” new variants have been discovered in Brazil. The concern is that different descendants show similar mutations – some of which can lead to the evasion of antibodies that humans may already have against another strain.
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“It’s like they all evolve at the same time and in the same way, even if they aren’t directly related to each other,” he said. “That could mean we have a high number of cases, even in populations that already have immunity.”
Family members attend a funeral at Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery on January 13
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
There is also no information yet on whether existing vaccines against the new strain will work. Brazil, which has not yet begun to vaccinate, has bet on two shots: CoronaVac from Sinovac Biotech Ltd and the booster from AstraZeneca / Oxford. Health regulator Anvisa has a meeting on Sunday to decide on emergency requests for both.
“The faster you vaccinate, the less the virus mutates,” said Bergmann Morais Ribeiro, an expert in molecular virus biology who has contributed to the sequence of the virus’ genome. “You reduce the chance of a virus appearing that is really worrying, making the disease worse.”
Vaccine debacle
If Anvisa gives its approval, it would take three to five days to distribute the vaccines in states – the government has said it plans to start immunizing Brazil’s 210 million people next week. The South American country has the second most deaths and third most coronavirus infections worldwide.
For now, CoronaVac is the only available recording in the country. President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that the government The plan to import 2 million doses of the Astra booster from India to speed up vaccinations has been delayed for several days, reported Valor Economico newspaper, quoting a TV interview.
No oxygen
Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, is collapsing under the pressure of the second wave of the virus. Cases and deaths have risen to levels last seen in May. The state has begun to transport patients to other states amid reports of patients dying of asphyxiation.
The Health Ministry said Friday it is hiring 2,500 health care professionals to help Manaus, and getting enough oxygen to support 61 premature babies who will be in ICU beds in the city for the next 48 hours.
State Governor Wilson Lima said the demand for oxygen is much higher than in 2020, with a massive increase from 15,000 to 75,000 cubic meters in just 10 days, rendering the preparations useless. Amazonas still has to transfer at least 400 patients to other states to control the deficit, he said. Boats and trucks are expected to arrive with oxygen bottles for the next 24 hours.
The rainy season in the Amazon rainforest, which starts in November, increases respiratory disease, Naveca said. But experts also blame something else: the abandonment of social distance measures.
EMTs take a patient to 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus on January 14.
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
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“Social distancing and other individual protective measures were abandoned as officials relaxed the rules allowing operations to resume,” said Bernardino Albuquerque, an infectious disease expert and professor at Amazonas Federal University. “When they left in December, it was too late. It had already gotten out of hand, and we will see that in January. “
On Thursday, officials imposed a 7 a.m. curfew and halted public transport on roads and rivers to limit the spread of the disease. While Lima says the situation is still very serious, the local government has ruled out lockdowns.
“There are restrictive measures to avoid social contact, but if the measures are too extreme they can have the opposite effect,” he said.
– With the help of Martha Viotti Beck