A patient arrives at the 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus, Amazon, Brazil, on January 14, 2021, amid the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic. Manaus is facing a lack of oxygen supply and bed space as the city has been overwhelmed by a second wave of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
MICHAEL DANTAS | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – A new variant of coronavirus identified in Brazil has exacerbated concerns among public health experts and led to warnings that new strains may be developing.
News of the Brazilian version comes after two separate mutant strains of the virus were discovered in the UK and South Africa earlier this year.
Researchers are urgently studying variants of Covid, which are suspected to have similar characteristics, in order to better understand the threat they pose.
Viruses move naturally and there is no evidence that newly discovered strains have more severe disease outcomes.
However, Covid variants are considered to be more transmissible than the original one that triggered the pandemic and this could lead to a higher number of serious infections and deaths.
Health authorities have recommended hand washing, physical restraint and the use of personal protective equipment as a means of preventing the spread of the virus.
What is known about the variant found in Brazil?
Earlier this month, the Japanese National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said it had detected a new variant of Covid in four passengers in the Brazilian state of Amazonas on January 2nd.
A 40-year-old man, who proved to be asymptomatic on arrival in Japan, was hospitalized because his respiratory condition worsened. A 30-year-old woman reported a sore throat and headache, a 10- to 19-year-old man had a fever, and a 10-year-old woman was asymptomatic.
This variant of the virus belongs to strain B.1.1.248 and has 12 mutations in the spike protein, NIID said. Spike proteins are used by the virus to enter cells in the body.
The nurses speak in front of the 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus, Amazon, Brazil, on January 14, 2021, in the middle of the coronavirus novel, COVID-19, pandemic.
MICHAEL DANTAS | AFP | Getty Images
NIID said it is difficult to immediately determine how infectious the new strain is and the effectiveness of vaccines against it.
To date, Brazil has recorded more than 8.3 million Covid cases and 207,000 deaths from viruses, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The South American country ranks second in the United States for Covid-related deaths worldwide.
Travel ban
The United Kingdom on Friday imposed a ban on travel from South America (and Portugal and Cape Verde) in an effort to stop people from bringing the new variant into the country.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps told the BBC it was a precautionary measure. He added that scientists believe coronavirus vaccines will work on the new variant.
“I took a look at this mutation, unlike many thousands, very carefully, I saw that there may be a problem, not so much that the vaccine will not work, in fact scientists think it will work, but only the fact that it is more widespread, “Shapps told Reuters.
On Thursday, Britain’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told ITV that there was a “higher risk” for the Covid variant identified in Brazil when it came to the vaccine’s effectiveness.
What about mutant strains in the UK and South Africa?
On 14 December, the UK health authorities reported WHO to a variant identified as SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01. It is not clear how the new strain appeared, but preliminary findings have determined that it is extremely infectious.
It originally appeared in the south-east of England, but has since become the dominant strain in much of the UK and has spread to over 50 other countries. As a result, many nations have imposed bans on travelers from the UK.
Healthcare professionals wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) make their way inside a temporary ward dedicated to the treatment of potential patients with COVID-19 coronavirus at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria on January 11, 2021
Phill Magakoe | AFP | Getty Images
Separately, the South African national authorities on December 18 announced the detection of the 501Y.V2 variant. Preliminary studies have shown that the 501Y.V2 variant also has an increased transmissibility. Since then, it has been found in at least 20 other countries.
The variants, which came separately, both have a genetic mutation of the spike protein.
What’s next?
Studies are underway to understand the transmissibility and severity of newly discovered Covid variants, as well as their potential impact on vaccines.
After about 10 months of relative inactivity, “we began to see a striking evolution of SARS-CoV-2, with a repeated evolutionary pattern in the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern emerging from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.” Dr. Trevor Bedford, a virologist and associate professor at the University of Washington, said on Twitter on Thursday.
Bedford, who also works with Fred Hutch’s vaccines and infectious diseases division, warned that the hypothesis is “extremely speculative” at the moment. “But separately, the fact that we have noticed 3 variants of concern appearing since September suggests that more are likely to follow.”
To date, more than 93.2 million people have contracted Covid-19 worldwide, with 1.99 million deaths.
Professor Devi Sridhar, president of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, said on Friday that the world had become “the playground of the virus to move and evolve, (especially) in countries that have allowed for greater prevalence”.