Coveiros bury a victim of Covid-19 surrounded by relatives in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus on January 13.
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
Brazilian researchers are warning that a new strain of coronavirus detected a few days ago may be aggravating an outbreak in Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon rainforest.
Experts want to infer the increase in cases that left hospitals in Manaus no beds available and oxygen is linked to the new strain, but it has not yet been possible to confirm the suspicion. Although the variant appears to be more transmissible, half a dozen researchers say that there are still not enough studies to say that it is responsible for the fastest spread and no evidence on whether it causes a more severe form of Covid-19.
“We suspect that it is more transmissible, based on the data we have from the strains in the United Kingdom and South Africa,” said Felipe Naveca, a researcher at Fiocruz Amazônia who helped to sequence the virus genome. “But the Manaus variant has many more mutations than the others.”
On Friday, Fiocruz confirmed a case of reinfection by a new strain: a 29-year-old woman who was first diagnosed in March and received a second diagnosis of coronavirus on December 30.
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The new variant has not yet been found in other regions of Brazil, although researchers see this only in a matter of time. It was first detected in Japan in four people who returned from Manaus last weekend.
Immunity doubts
Brazilian scientists have also found strains in Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. Fernando Spilki, a virology professor who is working on an initiative to sequence virus genomes, says there have been “three or four” new variants detected in Brazil. The concern is that different strains are showing similar mutations – some of which may lead you to avoid antibodies that people may already have against another strain.
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“It’s as if everyone is evolving at the same time and in the same way, even if they are not directly related to each other,” he said. “This may mean that we have a large number of cases even in populations that already have immunity.”
Relatives attend a burial in the cemetery of Nossa Senhora Aparecida on January 13
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
There is also no information on whether existing vaccines will work against the new strain. Brazil, which has not yet started vaccinating, bet on two shots: CoronaVac from Sinovac Biotech Ltda and the AstraZeneca / Oxford booster. The regulatory health agency Anvisa has a meeting on Sunday to decide on requests for emergency use for both.
“The faster you vaccinate, the less the virus mutates,” said Bergmann Morais Ribeiro, a specialist in molecular biology of viruses who helped sequence the virus’ genome. “You decrease the chances of a virus appearing that is really worrying, which makes the disease more serious.”
Vaccine Debacle
If released by Anvisa, it would take between three to five days to distribute the vaccines to the states – the government announced that it plans to start immunizing 210 million Brazilians next week. The South American country has the second highest number of deaths and the third highest number of coronavirus infections worldwide.
For now, the only photo available in the country is CoronaVac. President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that the government The plan to import 2 million doses of Astra booster from India to speed up vaccinations has been delayed for several days, reported the newspaper Valor Econômico, citing an interview on TV.
Oxygen free
Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, is collapsing under the pressure of the second wave of the virus. Cases and deaths soared to levels last seen in May. The state began transporting patients to other states amid reports of patients dying of suffocation.
The health ministry said Friday that it is hiring 2,500 health professionals to help Manaus and has obtained enough oxygen to support 61 premature babies who will be in ICU beds in the city for the next 48 hours.
State Governor Wilson Lima said the demand for oxygen far surpassed what was seen in 2020, skyrocketing to 75,000 cubic meters of 15,000 in just 10 days and rendering preparations useless. The Amazon still needs to transfer at least 400 patients to other states to control the shortage, he said. Boats and trucks are expected to arrive with oxygen cylinders within the next 24 hours.
The rainy season in the Amazon rainforest, which begins in November, increases respiratory diseases, said Naveca. But experts also blame something else: the abandonment of measures of social distance.
Paramedics bring a patient to Hospital 28 de Agosto, in Manaus, on January 14.
Photographer: Michael Dantas / AFP / Getty Images
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“Social detachment and other individual protection measures were abandoned when the authorities relaxed the rules, allowing activities to resume,” said Bernardino Albuquerque, a specialist in infectious diseases and a professor at the Federal University of Amazonas. “When they went back in December, it was too late. It was already out of control and that’s what we’re seeing in January, too. “
On Thursday, authorities imposed a curfew at 7 am and suspended public transport on roads and rivers to curb the spread of the disease. Although Lima says the situation is still very serious, the local government has ruled out the blockades.
“There are restrictive measures to avoid social contact, but if the measures are too extreme, they can have the opposite effect,” he said.
– With the help of Martha Viotti Beck