US Navy / Jonathan Berlier via Flickr
The first case recorded in the United States of the SARS-CoV-2 variant that originated in Brazil happened in Minnesota, and the CDC has released a report that reveals how it got here and how it was investigated.
The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed the first case of variant P.1 on Jan. 25, just weeks after the variant was first confirmed in travelers from Brazil during a routine inspection at a Tokyo airport.
The variant, which may be up to 2.2 times more transmissible than the initial COVID strain and has mutations in the binding to the tip protein receptor that has raised concerns about the possibility of evading the vaccine and naturally building immunity, emerged in the midst of a permanent disaster in Brazil President Jair Bolsanaro has been criticized for failing to implement measures to contain COVID and deploy vaccines, and mocked COVID as “a bit of flu” despite causing more than 250,000 lives in his country.
The first case in the United States was reported in Minnesota after a person became symptomatic in early January and was hospitalized for 9 days.
During the investigation of the case, it was learned that they had traveled to southeastern Brazil for the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms, and their travel partner, who lives in the same home, also tested positive after returning.
Since December, the Minnesota Department of Health is testing 100 copies of COVID per week to find possible variants, and genome sequencing of the two samples confirmed the P.1 variant in both.
So far, the two cases remain the only confirmed variant of P.1 in Minnesota, according to CDC figures, while the most widespread variant of B.1.1.7 in the UK has seen 78 cases. Given the limitations of MDH genome sequencing, there may be more than has been discovered.
The CDC says the hospitalized patient interacted with four medical centers while he had the virus, with tests performed on 111 health workers who came in contact with them, but without high-risk exposures.
Subsequently, 22 workers took COVID tests and none were positive.
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MSP Airport was also informed because the couple who had the variant was traveling internationally and arriving on a domestic flight to MSP, but because “19 days had passed since the flights, CDC did not initiate a full contact investigation with the MSP. airplane “.
However, he obtained information from potentially exposed passengers and notified the health departments where they lived. 42 more people who may have had close contact with the couple in Minnesota were also offered tests. Twenty of them tested, all were negative.
The CDC says the discovery of variant P.1 “underscores the importance of community-based prevention strategies to curb the transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” including the use of “tight-fitting masks,” social distancing, hand washing, regular testing and the use of quarantine and isolation for anyone who tests positive or has symptoms.