Two studies that are due out soon raise concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus that scientists are looking at in California.
They suggest that the variant may not only be more contagious, but also cause more serious illnesses. The research is in its early stages, has not been published or peer-reviewed and needs more work, the researchers emphasized.
A team from the University of California, San Francisco, tested virus samples from recent outbreaks in California and found it was becoming much more common. It was not seen in any September sample, but in late January it was found in half of the samples.
This variant, which the team calls B.1.427 / B.1.429, has a different pattern of mutations than the variants seen for the first time in the UK, called B.1.1.7 and in South Africa, called B .1.351. A mutation, called L452R, affects the virus’s spike protein, which is the part that binds to cells infected by the virus.
“A specific mutation, the L452R mutation, in the receptor-binding domain of the peak protein can allow the virus to fit more efficiently into cells. Our data show that this is probably the key mutation that makes this variant more infectious, ”said Dr. Charles Chiu, associate director of the clinical microbiology laboratory at UCSF, who led one of the studies, to CNN.
And they found some evidence that it is more dangerous.
“In this study, we observed an increase in the severity of the disease associated with B.1.427 / B.1.429 infection, including an increased risk of high oxygen demand,” they wrote in their report, which should be posted on a prepress server. at the end of this week, after publicly the health authorities in San Francisco analyze it.
Chiu said that it should be designated as a variant of concern and a study priority.
A second team from Unidos en Salud, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco that offers rapid testing in the Mission District of San Francisco, tested 8,846 people during the month of January and sequenced the virus from 630 of the samples. They also found a rapid increase in the variant.
“The survey results indicate that the L452R variant represents 53% of positive test samples collected between 10 and 27 January. This is a significant increase since November, when our sequencing indicated that this variant comprised only 16% of positive tests, ”said Dr. Diane Havlir, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF who is helping to lead the study, in a statement.
Havlir’s team is also preparing its findings for publication.