Florida confirms 1st case of Brazil’s COVID-19 variant

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida. – Florida reported its first case of variant P.1 COVID-19 that was first detected outside Brazil, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The most recent data from the CDC show only five verified cases of this variant in the United States. Two cases are in Minnesota; Maryland and Oklahoma also have one case each.

The CDC does not specify where in a state that the variants were located. Local 10 News asked state health officials where the Brazil variant case was found in Florida, but that was not provided.

The Brazilian variant was first identified in four travelers tested at an airport outside Tokyo, Japan. It contains a set of mutations that can affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies, according to the CDC.

Florida continues to have the most confirmed case of UK variant B.1.1.7.

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The state has 433 cases of 1,523 confirmed across the country by the CDC.

The Florida Department of Health said one of the reasons the state has identified most of the variant cases in the UK is because doctors here are making more sequences to look for them. These efforts include samples being verified by researchers at the University of Miami.

The FDOH has released updated figures for counties where cases of variant B.1.1.7 have been found in the state, and the largest concentration remains in South Florida:

Broward: 115

Miami-Dade: 68

Palm Beach: 49

Hillsborough: 38

Pinellas: 32

Pasco: 19

Orange: 14

Seminole: 11

Marion: 9

Osceola: 9

Brevard: 9

St. Lucie: 6

Hernando: 6

Lake: 5

Collier: 5

Alachua: 5

Lee: 4

Polk: 4

Volusia: 4

Suwannee: 3

Leon: 3

Martin: 2

Charlotte: 2

Flagler: 2

Hendry: 2

Okaloosa: 1

Citrus: 1

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Collection: 1

Sumter: 1

Scotland: 1

Duval: 1

Indian River: 1