US: First case of Brazil coronavirus variant identified in Minnesota

The Brazilian variant of the novel coronavirus has made its first appearance in the United States. According to the State Health Officials, the case was detected in a person who recently returned to Minnesota after travelling to Brazil. Earlier, as per the reports by the state department, the Brazil variant was found in a specimen from a patient who lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul as he became ill during the first week of January.

Brazil variant spotted in US 

However, there was no indication of the variant spreading at such a fast pace. The Brazilian variant was first detected in four travellers who were tested at an airport outside Tokyo. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it contains a set of mutations that might make it difficult to be recognised by antibodies.

Read: UK PM Boris Johnson Says New COVID-19 Variant Has 'higher Mortality Rate'

In a statement, the State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said, “We know that even as we work hard to defeat COVID-19, the virus continues to evolve as all viruses do. That’s yet another reason why we want to limit COVID-19 transmission – the fewer people who get COVID-19, the fewer opportunities the virus has to evolve. The good news is that we can slow the spread of this variant and all COVID-19 variants by using the tried-and-true prevention methods of wearing masks, keeping social distance, staying home when sick, and getting tested when appropriate”. 

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This comes just a few days after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the new UK mutant of the coronavirus identified in southeast England has a higher rate of mortality than the SARS-CoV-2. Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, the UK PM warned that the government might introduce broader restriction measures as the new strain detected in September might be 30 per cent deadlier than previously thought. Johnson said that the variant identified as B.1.1.7, spreads nearly 30-70 per cent faster than the dominant coronavirus strain. "iI may be associated with a higher degree of mortality”. 

Read: US: Anthony Fauci 'concerned' About Deadliness Of New UK COVID-19 Strain

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(Image Credits: AP)