LONDON (Reuters) – Up to six cases of a highly transmitted variant of the coronavirus first identified in the Brazilian city of Manaus have been detected in Britain for the first time, English health officials said on Sunday.
Three cases were found in England and three more in Scotland.
Two of three cases found in England were from a household in the South Gloucestershire area that had a history of traveling to Brazil. A third case, which is currently unrelated, has yet to be identified, England said.
The risk to the wider community as a result of the Gloucestershire cases is considered minor, but as a precaution, officials moved quickly to implement the testing and increase the order of positive coronavirus samples from the area, PHE said.
The Scottish affairs are not related to the affairs in England.
The P.1 variant detected in Manaus shares mutations with a variant first identified in South Africa, and it is possible that it may respond less well to current vaccines, PHE said.
Susan Hopkins, a strategic response director for PHE’s COVID-19, said Britain’s advanced gene sequencing allows it to find more variants and mutations than many other countries.
Late last year, Britain discovered a more transmissible variant of coronavirus that presumably originated near London and which led to a sharp increase in cases in the country and beyond.
‘The important thing to remember is that COVID-19, no matter what variant it is, spreads in the same way. “This means that the measures to prevent its spread do not change,” Hopkins said.
The PHE and test and tracking officers followed up all passengers on Swiss Air flight LX318 from Sao Paulo to London via Zurich, which landed at London Heathrow on 10 February, to test them and their households.
All three Scottish cases were identified in people who returned to the country via Paris and London, isolating themselves during the required ten-day period.
“Due to the possible concerns surrounding this variant, other passengers on the flight used by three individuals from London to Aberdeen are being contacted,” the Scottish Government said.
Writing by William Schomberg; Edited by Jane Merriman and Frances Kerry