The emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has turned the world upside down in a way that we could never have imagined. Even now, a year later, the virus is still changing and continues to confuse and challenge experts. Currently, new strains of the virus are emerging in different pockets of the globe, some of which are the most worrying in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. They are about 50% more transmissible than the current dominant strain and, in some cases, are affecting the effectiveness of treatments and vaccines. Now, researchers have just discovered another alarming new development for COVID: patients are being infected with two different strains of the virus at the same time. Read on to find out more about the new study’s findings and what it means for the future of the pandemic, and for more concerns about the coronavirus, find out why the Medical Director of Moderna just provided this disturbing update.
Researchers in southern Brazil found two cases of COVID in which individuals were infected with two different strains of the virus simultaneously, Reuters reported for the first time. Both patients, both in their 30s, were infected with a newly identified variant and disseminated in Rio de Janeiro called P.2, in addition to another variant.
According to their study, which is available for viewing but has not yet been published in a newspaper or peer-reviewed, both patients had mild cases that did not require hospitalization, with headache, cough and sore throat as the symptoms most prominent of COVID. Once officially published, this study will be the first to confirm the possibility of co-infection with multiple strains of COVID, the researchers said. And for more updates on the coronavirus, know that if you have it in your blood, you can be safe from COVID, says the study.
Fernando Spilki, PhD, lead researcher of the study and virologist at Feevale University in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, told Reuters that these cases of coinfection mean that multiple variants of COVID must be circulating widely in Brazil, since coinfection can only happen when different strains are being transmitted in large quantities, he said. And to get the most up-to-date COVID news sent straight to your inbox, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
The USA has recently identified several variants of other countries within our borders. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the USA has confirmed cases of COVID of the United Kingdom variant (B.1.1.7), the South African strain (B.1.351) and the P.1 variant. of Brazil. Although the South African and Brazilian strains were found in the United States last week and there are few known cases of each, there are already at least 315 cases of the UK variant here.
These variants are not yet high enough to cause co-infection, but the CDC warns that the UK variant could become the dominant strain of COVID in the United States in March – meaning that co-infection may be possible in the future. And for more information on exactly where the new strains are spreading, find out how many cases of new COVID strains exist in your state.
Although the two cases of co-infection reported in Brazil were mild cases, Spilki says that the negative implications of co-infections can cause damage on a larger scale. “These coinfections can generate combinations and generate new variants even more quickly than they have been. It would be another evolutionary pathway for the virus,” explained Spilki.
According to the CDC, the new variants that have recently emerged “appear to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which could lead to more cases of COVID-19”. Like Spilki, the health agency warned that “an increase in the number of cases will put more pressure on health resources, lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths”. And for more ways to stay safe, these three things can prevent almost all COVID cases, the study reveals.