The first case of the bay area of the Brazilian variant of COVID-19 was detected in a resident of Santa Clara County, public health officials said.
The variant known as P.1 is highly infectious and research has shown that it can reinfect people who have previously had other strains of the virus.
The individual who tested positive for P.1 was identified in mid-March, after returning from a trip outside the state, according to the county health department.
The county also identified two confirmed cases of the variant first detected in South Africa and 19 confirmed cases of the variant first detected in the United Kingdom.
“The presence of variant P.1, in addition to the spread of other variants, is a strong reminder that our collective progress in controlling the virus remains tenuous,” the county said in a statement. “Community members should continue with preventive measures that have already proven to be highly protective against COVID-19. Non-essential travel is strongly discouraged and everyone should continue to wear a mask, keep their distance and be vaccinated when it is their turn.”
Viruses are constantly mutating and several variants of COVID-19 have emerged in recent months, including variants from the United Kingdom and South Africa. They are worrying, as researchers believe they can spread more easily and are likely to become the main source of disease.
The P.1 strain was found for the first time in four Brazilian travelers who were tested during routine screening at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in early January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since then, it has become the dominant variant in Brazil, where more than 300,000 people have died from coronavirus complications, according to Johns Hopkins University.
P.1 was first identified in the United States, Minnesota, at the end of January 2021, and 79 cases were detected in 18 other regions of the country, according to the CDC.
Initial research suggests that vaccines offer protection against new variants, although they may be slightly less effective and more research is needed.