Researchers at Northwestern Medicine said they first identified P.1. variant, which was first encountered earlier this year in travelers from Brazil during a screening at Tokyo Airport. The Brazilian variant has since been found in several other countries.
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“We identified him through our research program after the virus mutations over time in the Chicago area,” said Dr. Egon Ozer, assistant professor of medicine in northwestern infectious diseases and medical doctor. from the northwest.
Northwestern said that when the Chicago Department of Public Health tracked the individual, another person in the household had also been mistreated with COVID-19. However, no one in the house reported traveling outside of Illinois, CDPH said.
Researchers in the Northwest said there is evidence to suggest that this variant can spread more easily than other strains of COVID-19 currently circulating. It is also concerned that the mutated form of the virus decreases the susceptibility of the virus to immunization through vaccination or previous infection.
“This means that if someone had been previously infected with COVID-19, the immune system may not so effectively fight a second infection with this variant,” Ozer said. “There is also some concern that current vaccines may not be as effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 with this variant, although it is unclear to what extent they differ.”
A case of P.1. it was first identified in the United States in late January in Minnesota and has since been identified in several other states.
Variants from the UK and South Africa have already arrived here. In all, Illinois has reported 88 known cases.