US Navy / Jonathan Berlier via Flickr
America’s first recorded case of the SARS-CoV-2 variant originating in Brazil took place in Minnesota, and the CDC released a report revealing how it got here and how it was investigated.
The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed the first case of the P.1 variant on January 25, a few weeks after the variant was first confirmed by travelers from Brazil during a routine inspection at a Tokyo airport.
The variant, which can be up to 2.2 times more transmissible than the initial COVID strain and has mutations at the peak protein receptor binding that raised concerns that it could evade the vaccine and natural immunity, amid an ongoing disaster ensues in Brazil. President Jair Bolsanaro has been criticized for failing to implement the measures to contain COVID and vaccinations, and has called COVID a ‘little flu’, although he has claimed more than 250,000 lives in his country .
The first U.S. case was reported in Minnesota after a person became symptomatic in early January and was hospitalized for 9 days.
During the investigation, it turned out that they had traveled to southeastern Brazil within the 14 days before the symptoms started, and that their travel companion – who lives in the same household – also tested positive after returning.
The Department of Health in Minnesota has been testing 100 samples of COVID per week since December for possible variants, and genome sequences of the two samples confirm the P.1 variant in both.
So far, the two cases remain the only confirmed P.1 variant in Minnesota, according to CDC figures, while the more widespread B.1.1.7 British variant has seen 78 cases. However, given the limits of MDH’s genome sequence, there may be more than have been discovered.
The CDC says the hospital patient spoke to four health care facilities while he had the virus, and the test was offered to 111 health workers who came into contact with it, but no exposure to high risks.
Subsequently, 22 workers took COVID tests and no one was positive.
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The MSP airport was also notified because the couple who had the variant traveled internationally and arrived on a domestic flight to MSP, but because ’19 days have passed since the flights, CDC does not have a full investigation after aircraft contact does not begin. ‘
However, it obtained the information from passengers who may have been exposed and notified the health departments where they live. A further 42 people who may have had close contact with the couple in Minnesota were also offered to test. Twenty of them took tests, all were negative.
The CDC says the discovery of the P.1 variant “underlines the importance of community prevention strategies to slow down the spread of SARS-CoV-2”, including the use of ‘appropriate masks’, social distance, hand washing, regular testing and the use of quarantines and isolation for anyone who has positive test or symptoms.