São Paulo, Brazil.
A group of researchers identified a new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes covid-19, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, one of the regions hardest hit by the pandemic in Brazil. Scientific sources report this on Tuesday.
According to an investigation by National Scientific Computing Laboratory (LNCC)affiliated with the Ministry of Science and Technology and carried out in collaboration with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), the new variant was first discovered in the city last October Rio de Janeiro, capital of the state of the same name.
The researchers stressed that for now the new variant is “partially limited” to the city, which has the highest rate of cases and deaths from covid-19 in the region, but they warned of a possible spread throughout the state and, consequently, other parts of the country. South American country.
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“The significant increase in the frequency of this line raises concerns about public health management and the need for genomic surveillance during the second wave of infections,” said the scientists in the study, co-ordinated by the investigator. Ana Tereza Vasconcelos.
The new strain was discovered by genetic sequencing of the B.1.1.28 line, which has been circulating in Brazil since the beginning of the year, and the variant is estimated to have surfaced in July.
The researchers analyzed 180 SARS-CoV-2 genomes and discovered five “unique mutations” that “have emerged and are spreading rapidly.”
However, the study does not indicate whether the newly identified strain is more transmissible or more aggressive than those already known in Brazil, one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, alongside the United States and India.
Likewise, the scientists noted that there is also no “evidence” that the variant can reduce the effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines that are barely they are starting to spread all over the world.
The state of Rio de Janeiro is, after Sao Paulo, the second region in Brazil with the highest absolute number of deaths from the disease, with nearly 25,000 deaths, and the sixth with the most confirmed cases (407,575).
Throughout the country, which has about 210 million inhabitants, the corona virus is already leaving more than behind 187,000 dead and 7.2 million infected.
In recent weeks, Brazil has witnessed another outbreak of the pathogen, forcing several states and municipalities to tighten restrictive measures for the year-end holidays, which have even been canceled in several locations.