An infectious strain of the coronavirus that has quickly swept through the UK is officially in Oregon, which worries public health officials.
The Oregon Health Authority announced Friday that a Multnomah County resident without a known travel history has tested positive for the variant known as B.1.1.7. Prior to the Oregon case, there were only 88 known infections in 15 states.
Federal officials say the strain is much more transmissible and is likely to account for a large portion of U.S. infections in March. Although there is no evidence that the stress is worse or more deadly, the ability to pass more easily can infect more people and eventually die during the pandemic.
“The detection of the first case of this variant strain is of concern, and we have monitored the movement of this strain,” said dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state health officer and state epidemiologist, said in a statement.
The Oregon Health Authority said public health officials in Multnomah County are working Friday night and through the weekend to conduct contact detection related to the infection.
“Confirmation of this strain locally is disturbing,” said dr. Jennifer Vines, the health officer in Multnomah County, said in a statement. “Until we have enough vaccine, we must continue to use face masks, remove and limit our social interactions.”
Oregon was one of the earliest states to identify its first case of coronavirus in February 2020 and did relatively well throughout the pandemic, reporting fewer cases and deaths per capita than just a handful of states.
It is not immediately clear how government officials learned or confirmed about the arrival of the new strain, as only certain coronavirus tests look like variants of the virus. It is also not immediately known how many Oregonians who tested positive were selected for the variant.
Oregon has seen a significant drop in tests this month as public health officials focus on vaccinating as many people as possible.
– Brad Schmidt; [email protected]; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt