The highly contagious COVID-19 variant first detected in the UK is now spreading rapidly across the U.S. – doubling every 10 days, according to a new study.
The researchers predicted that the strain known as B117 could become the most prevalent in the country next month, according to the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed and was released on Sunday on the MedRxiv prepress server.
The group led by scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, determined that the new variant arrived in the United States as early as November.
Observing the genomic analyzes of the virus samples, they found that the frequency of the mutation doubled every week and a half.
In Florida, the new strain is estimated to account for about 4% of all cases.
In comparison, the national rate is probably between 1 and 2 percent, the researchers said.
The study estimated that its transmission rate is between 35 and 45 percent higher than other strains – prompting researchers to warn that “immediate” action is needed to avoid peaks similar to those that forced new blockages in the UK.
“Our study shows that the US is on a similar trajectory to other countries where B.1.1.7 has quickly become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant, requiring immediate and decisive action to minimize the morbidity and mortality of covid-19”, the authors wrote.
“These findings show that B.1.1.7 is likely to become the dominant variant in many U.S. states in March 2021, leading to further outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country,” they added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have detected at least 611 cases of the strain in 33 states, although the variant is likely to be much more widespread, since genetic sequencing is not standard practice.