A new and very contagious coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa was first found in the United States, with two cases diagnosed in South Carolina, health officials said Thursday. The two cases don’t seem to be related, nor do the people have a history of recent travel, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said.
“That’s frightening,” because it means there are likely to be more undetected cases within the state, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “It’s probably more widespread.”
The arrival of this variant which is now on the rise in other countries shows that “the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, interim director of public health for the South Carolina agency, said in a statement. “While more COVID-19 vaccines are on the way, supplies are still limited. Each of us must re-engage in the fight by recognizing that we are now all on the front lines. We are all in this together.”
The two people infected with this variant are both adults; one is from Lowcountry in South Carolina and the other from the Pee Dee region, the state said, while withholding other information to protect their privacy.
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Viruses are constantly mutating, with coronavirus variants circulating around the world, but scientists are particularly concerned about the recent emergence of three of them. Other variants first discovered in it United Kingdom and Brazil has also been confirmed in the US. Researchers believe these three variants can spread more easily, predicting it was only a matter of time before they would appear here.
“At present, we have no evidence that infections from this variant cause more serious disease,” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. “Like the UK and Brazil variants, preliminary data suggests this variant is possible spread more easily and faster than other variants. “
Also last week, scientists reported preliminary but troubling signs that some of the recent mutations may modestly reduce the potency of two current vaccines, although they stressed that the injections still protect against the disease. And there are signs that some of the new mutations could undermine tests for the virus and decrease the effectiveness of certain treatments.
The coronavirus has already made millions of people sick and killed more than 400,000 people in the United States.
While some European countries conduct extensive genetic testing to detect these variants, the US has done very little of this research. But scientists are quick to try to do more, and they see these seemingly more contagious variants the way they do.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported at least 315 cases of the variant discovered in the UK in the United States. Those reports come from at least 28 states, and health officials think it could become the dominant species in the US in March. This variant has been reported in at least 70 countries.
The first US case of the variant originally found in Brazil was announced by health officials earlier this week in Brazil Minnesota. It was a person who recently traveled to that South American country. That version of the virus has surfaced in more than half a dozen countries.
The variant first found in South Africa was discovered there in October. It has since been found in at least 30 other countries.
Some tests suggest that the South African and Brazilian variants may be less susceptible to antibody drugs or antibody-rich blood plasma treatment from COVID-19 survivors, both of which help people fight the virus.
Health officials are also concerned that if the virus changes enough, more people could get COVID-19 a second time.
President Biden was restored on Monday Travel restrictions covid-19 for most non-US citizens traveling from Brazil, UK and South Africa. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans don’t travel at this time.