A new strain of coronavirus that shares some characteristics with the South Africa variant is emerging in New York City, the researchers said on Wednesday.
By mid-February, the new variant, called B.1.526, was present in about 12 percent of coronavirus samples collected in the Big Apple and surrounding areas, according to researchers at Columbia University’s College of Vaginal Doctors and Surgeons.
In their analysis of publicly available databases, the Columbia researchers did not find a high prevalence of the COVID-19 variants from South Africa or Brazil in the region.
“Instead, we found a large number of this home-grown strain,” said Dr. Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, assistant professor in the infectious disease division at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, in a statement.
The Columbia study found that the new strain shares some similarities with the South African strain, which scientists believe can spread more easily than other variants of the virus.
B.1.526 was also described in research published this week by the California Institute of Technology.
None of the studies have been reviewed by outside experts.
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