Researchers at Northwestern Medicine said they first identified P.1. variant, which was first found earlier this year among travelers from Brazil during an airport show in Tokyo. The Brazilian variant has since been found in several other countries.
SEE ALSO | United Center Vaccine Reporting Continues Despite Early Mistakes
“We identified it through our research program following mutations in the virus over time in the Chicago area,” said Dr. Egon Ozer, assistant professor of medicine in infectious diseases in the Northwest and a physician in the Northwest, said.
Northwestern said that when the Chicago Department of Public Health followed up the individual, one other person in the household was also not healthy with COVID-19. However, no one in the household reported that they had traveled outside of Illinois, CDPH said.
Northwestern researchers said there is evidence to suggest that this variant may spread more easily than other strains of COVID-19 that are currently in circulation. There is also concern that the mutated form of the virus will reduce the susceptibility of the virus to vaccination by vaccination or prior infection.
“This means that if someone has been infected with COVID-19 before, the immune system may not be able to fight a second infection as effectively with this variant,” Ozer said. “There are also concerns that current vaccines may not be as effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 with this variant, although the extent to which they differ is unclear.”
A case of P.1. was first identified in January in Minnesota and has since been identified in several other states.
The British and South African variants have already arrived here. In total, Illinois reported 88 cases of known variants.