The rise of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has turned the world upside down in ways we would never have imagined. Even now, a year later, the virus is still changing and experts remain confused. Currently, there are new strains of the virus in different pockets of the world, the most important of which are from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. They are about 50 percent more transmissible than the current dominant strain, and in some cases, this affects the effectiveness of treatments and vaccines. Now, researchers have just discovered a new disturbing COVID development: patients are infected with two different strains of the virus simultaneously. Read on to find out more about the findings of the new study and what it means for the future of the pandemic, and for more concerns about the coronavirus, discover why the chief medical officer of Moderna just gave this disturbing update.
Researchers in southern Brazil have discovered two COVID cases in which individuals were infected simultaneously with two different strains of the virus, Reuters reports. The two patients, both in their thirties, were infected with a newly identified variant spread around Rio de Janeiro called P.2, as well as another variant.
According to their study, which is available for preview but has not yet been published in a journal or peer-reviewed, both patients had mild cases that required no hospitalization, with headaches, coughs and sore throats being their most prominent. COVID symptoms. Once officially published, this study will be the first to confirm the possibility of co-infection with multiple strains of COVID, researchers said. And for more coronavirus updates, know that if you have it in your blood, you may be safe against COVID, study says.
Fernando Spilki, PhD, the lead researcher for the study and a virologist at the Feevale University in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, told Reuters that these co-infection cases mean that several COVID variants have to spread widely in Brazil, as co-infection only can happen when different strains are transferred in large quantities, he said. And sign up for our daily newsletter for more up-to-date COVID news sent directly to your inbox.
The US has recently identified several variants of other countries within our borders. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US has confirmed COVID cases of the British variant (B.1.1.7), the South African strain (B.1.351) and variant P.1 of Brazil. Although the South African and Brazilian strains have just been found in the USA in the past week, and there are very few cases of each, there are already at least 315 cases of the British variant.
These variants are not yet in large enough quantities to cause co-infection, but the CDC warns that the British variant could become the dominant strain of COVID in the US by March, which means that co-infection will be possible in the future. . And for more information on where exactly the new strains spread, you can find out how many cases of the new COVID strains are in your state.
While the two cases of co-infection reported in Brazil were mild cases, Spilki says the negative implications of co-infections could cause greater harm. “These co-infections can produce combinations faster and generate new variants faster than has happened. This would be a different evolutionary path for the virus,” Spilki explained.
According to the CDC, the new variants that appear recently are spreading easier and faster 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 place more health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations and possibly more deaths.’ And for more ways to stay safe, these three things can prevent almost all COVID cases.