The first case of a variant of COVID-19 that is considered most contagious has been identified in Dallas County, according to county officials.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Saturday that the variant was identified in a Dallas man in his 20s who had no recent history of travel outside the United States. The man is stable and isolated.
The health department is working to identify and notify who has had close contact with the man.
Jenkins said the genetic sequencing showed that the infection was caused by the variant. It is the third case caused by the variant in Texas and the first in northern Texas.
The other two cases were reported in Harris County and Nueces County.
“The emergence of the B.1.1.7 strain, although inevitable given the mobility of the modern world and the fact that we are an important transport hub, means that there is a strain that is 70% more contagious in our community and will grow rapidly”, said Jenkins in a written statement.
Dr. Steven Berk of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, an infectious disease physician, joined NBC 5 to assess the coronavirus variant in the UK.
The variant was first identified in the UK in September, and health officials said it appears to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, but does not appear to cause more serious symptoms.
Currently approved vaccines are considered effective against the variant.
“This is now the third case identified in Texas and we can assume that there are more cases in our community due to the nature of this variant and the speed with which it spreads,” said Dallas County Director of Health and Human Services, Dr. Philip Huang. we must remain vigilant in our fight against this virus and continue with all preventive and protective measures, such as wearing our mask, washing our hands and physically distancing ourselves. “