WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) – A second case of the more contagious COVID-19 variant known as B.1.1.7, originally discovered in the United Kingdom, has been identified in Waukesha County. The researchers say this new variant was known to spread faster, but now a new study says it is also more deadly.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says the second case was found on February 6. The case is now being closely monitored by the Waukesha County Health Department.
“We are detecting the tip of the iceberg and there are likely to be other cases that have not yet been detected,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, medical director for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Dr. Ryan Westergaard did not say how the person in Waukesha County contracted the strain, but says the likelihood of the community spreading across the state is high. He says that less than one percent of COVID-19 samples in Wisconsin are sequenced to look for new strains.
“If not – necessarily from this specific case, but because of the amount of interstate and international travel that is still going on,” he said.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Waukesha County Health Department says in part:
“The case that was detected in Waukesha County was identified after a positive test for COVID-19. This individual was successfully tracked by contact and instructed to isolate. We are working in cooperation with DHS to gather additional details to facilitate monitoring across the state. “
“It can very quickly take over and become the dominant strain, and with the timeframes that we see, it could happen in the next one to two months,” said Dr. Ben Weston, medical director of the Milwaukee County Emergency Management Office.
Dr. Weston said that there are three aspects that make B.1.1.7 dangerous. He says a new study in the UK has found it to be 70 percent more contagious, 35 percent more deadly and some findings show it may even escape the immune system. The increase in transmissibility can play a big factor in the decision of B.1.1.7 to become the next predominant strain.
“What we hear from other states that have detected a greater number is that a substantial number of them have not made international trips,” said Dr. Westergaard.
“We are really facing a schedule here to try to vaccinate people as soon as possible to neutralize this peak as much as possible,” says Weston.
Health officials say case numbers are currently trending in the right direction, but stress now is not the time to disappoint our guards.
“I think we should be satisfied with the progress we have made, but we must be vigilant and really take the risk that an additional second wave could occur,” adds Dr. Westergaard.
Dr. Weston says that increasing the contagiousness of this variant will make it much more difficult to control another peak. He says it is difficult to control how an increase in new variants would affect the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.