Seven new variants of the coronavirus have emerged in the United States since last summer, according to a new study – and scientists fear they may be more contagious.
The new variants – each named after a bird – were detailed in a 25-page medical study published online on Sunday, which has not yet been reviewed by experts.
The variants are similar in that each mutates to the 677th amino acid in the coronavirus, found in the “peak” that the virus uses to bind to healthy cells – increasing the fear that the changes could make them more infectious.
“This stretch of Spike is important because of its proximity to a key region for virulence,” Vaughn Cooper, one of the study’s senior authors and director of the Center for Evolutionary Biology and Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, told CNN.
The mutations were found by scientists across the country performing genetic sequencing in positive COVID-19 tests.
They are:
- “Robin 1,” which “is found in more than 30 U.S. states, but predominates in the midwest,” according to the study. It was first detected in August.
- “Robin 2”, which was first found in a sample collected in early October in Alabama. Thus, it is more common in the Southeast.
- “Pelican”, which was first detected in Oregon in late October. However, it has been found in 12 other states and is the only variant of the seven so far detected abroad, appearing in tests in Australia, Denmark, India and Switzerland.
- “Yellowhammer”, which, like “Robin 2,” is more common in the southeastern United States. He first appeared in a sample from late November.
- “Bluebird”, which first appeared in August and is more common in the Northeast.
- “Quail”, which appears most commonly in opposite corners of the USA, Northeast and Southwest. It was first detected in early October.
- “Mockingbird”, first found in late November and prevalent in the south-central United States, as well as along the east coast.
However, the overwhelming majority of positive coronavirus samples are never genetically sequenced, so it is unclear how widespread the variants may actually be and where they originated.
“I would hesitate to provide a home site for any of these strains at the moment,” Emma Hodcroft, another study co-author and epidemiologist at the University of Bern, told the New York Times.
It is also impossible to say at the moment whether the mutations are, in fact, more virulent – since the data available is insufficient to determine whether they actually spread at accelerated rates or just benefited from conditions that lead to infection, such as an operator participating in a super spreader event.
However, other international variants – most notably the UK strain, which has been detected in the United States, including New York – have been found to be significantly more infectious than the garden variety coronavirus, complicating efforts to eliminate the deadly virus forever.