A healthcare professional administers a free Covid-19 trial at a location in Charleston, South Carolina.
Photographer: Micah Green / Bloomberg
Photographer: Micah Green / Bloomberg
Columbia, SC (AP) – A new variant of the coronavirus identified in South Africa was found in the United States for the first time, with two cases diagnosed in South Carolina, state health officials said on Thursday.
The two cases do not appear to be related, nor do people have a history of recent travel, said the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“This is scary,” because it means there may be more undetected cases in the state, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “It is probably more widespread.”
The arrival of this variant now appearing in other countries shows that “the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC’s Acting Director of Public Health, in a statement. “While more COVID-19 vaccines are in use By the way, supplies are still limited. Each of us must commit again to the fight, recognizing that we are all on the front lines now. We are all in this together.”
The two people infected with this variant are adults; one is from Lowcountry in South Carolina and the other from the Pee Dee region, the state said, while retaining other information to protect its privacy.
Viruses are constantly mutating, with variants of the coronavirus circulating around the globe, but scientists are mainly concerned with the emergence of three of them. Other variants reported for the first time in the United Kingdom and Brazil have previously been confirmed in the United States. Researchers believe that these three variants can spread more easily and predicted that it was only a matter of time before they appeared here.
In addition, scientists last week reported preliminary, but worrying, signs that some of the recent mutations may modestly limit the effectiveness of the two current vaccines, although they emphasized that the vaccines still protect against the disease. And there are signs that some of the new mutations may hinder testing for the virus and reduce the effectiveness of certain treatments.
The coronavirus has already made millions sick and killed more than 400,000 people in the United States.
Although some European countries do extensive genetic testing to detect these variants, the United States has done very little of that detective work. But scientists have been trying to do it faster and are identifying these seemingly more contagious variants as they do so.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported at least 315 cases of the variant discovered in the United Kingdom in the United States. These reports came from at least 28 states, and health officials believe it could become the dominant strain in the United States by March. This variant has been reported in at least 70 countries.
The first American case of the variant found in Brazil was announced earlier this week by health officials in Minnesota. It was a person who recently traveled to that South American country. This version of the virus appeared in more than half a dozen countries.
The variant found for the first time in South Africa was detected in October. Since then, it has been found in at least 30 other countries.
Some tests suggest that South African and Brazilian variants may be less susceptible to antibiotic drugs or antibody-rich blood from survivors of COVID-19, which help people fight the virus.
Health officials also fear that if the virus changes enough, people may receive COVID-19 a second time.
President Joe Biden reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions on Monday for most non-American travelers from Brazil, the United Kingdom and South Africa. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending that Americans not travel at this time.
___
Stobbe reported from New York.
___
The Associated Press Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.