Extremely contagious virus variant identified in 3rd Michigan Province

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. A new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus has been reported for the first time in a third Michigan province.

Health officials say a confirmed case of a highly contagious COVID-19 variant, known as B117, was reported on Sunday, Feb. 7 in Kent County.

On February 5, a total of 28 known cases of the variant were identified in Michigan during the past month, but the cases were shown only in Washtenaw and Wayne.

Read: 28 cases of COVID-19 B117 variant have been confirmed in Washtenaw, Wayne, officials say

The new case reported on Sunday across the state apparently confirms the belief of health officials that there are likely to be more cases of the virus variant in Michigan, but it has just not been identified yet.

‘Fundamentally, it’s a race to cover our population; a race that triggers vaccination efforts against the transmission of infections, “said Dr. Adam London, director of the Kent County Department of Health.” While we work to reduce the impact of COVID-19 infections, the B.1.1.7 variant the virus an increased velocity. “

By nature, a virus – especially an RNA virus such as coronavirus – constantly mutates while infecting humans, as it makes copies in the process. Sometimes several individual mutations of the virus can accumulate or occur simultaneously, leading to a new version of the virus that has new characteristics, called a variant.

The B117 variant, first found in the UK at the end of 2020, is of particular concern due to increased transmissibility: Health experts say the B117 variant is 50 percent more contagious than the dominant coronavirus strain in the US.

Experts warn that the B117 variant is likely to become the dominant source of COVID infection in the US by March.

Michigan’s first known case of the virus variant was identified on January 16 in a woman from Washtenaw County who had just traveled to the United Kingdom.

Since then, all the different cases in the state have been found only in the counties of Washtenaw and Wayne. According to Washtenaw County officials, all known B117 cases in the country are linked to the University of Michigan.

After the outbreak began among the UM community, all university athletics was suspended until February 6, and all university students living on or near the Ann Arbor campus were asked to stay home until February 7 to help combat the spread of viruses.

Related: University of Michigan identifies virus outbreaks at off-campus homes

Three COVID-19 variants, including the B117 variant, have so far been identified in the US. Only the B117 variant was discovered from February 7 in Michigan.

Health experts have previously said that existing therapies and vaccines are still effective against the B117 variant, but this has yet to be determined. Some preliminary research shows that existing vaccines are effective against the B117 variant – although to a lesser extent – but that it is less effective against other variants such as the B1351 variant, which was found in South Africa.

More: Everything we know about virus variants in Michigan, USA.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and more contagious variants, people are encouraged to continue with precautions, including social distance, wearing masks, practicing good hygiene, and avoiding crowds and gatherings.

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