South African COVID-19 variant found again in Santa Clara County

The worrying South African strain of the COVID-19 virus, which is more infected and more resistant to some vaccines, has resurfaced in Santa Clara County.

Unlike the first case noted in February, this new case is not travel-related and is likely the result of community transmission. Health officials did not provide further details.

“This latest case confirms that we do have community transfer, and reminds us not to let our hats down in the midst of this pandemic,” said Dr. Sara Cody, health officer and director of public health for the county of Santa Clara, said in a statement.

“Taking into account the national trends, we work on the assumption that these variants are spreading to a certain level in our communities,” she said.

This is the fourth case reported in California. In February, officials announced that a case in Santa Clara County was being investigated by an adult who had traveled internationally but was placed in quarantine after showing symptoms. Another case in February was reported in Alameda County. Officials did not report the source of the fourth case.

The South African variant can evade the AstraZenca vaccine, although two other vaccines – made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – offer some protection.

But despite its danger, this South African variant did not gain much traction in the United States. Only 142 cases in 25 states were first detected in South Carolina in January.

In contrast, two other tribes – one that originated in California and the other that were imported from the United Kingdom – are widespread concern.

One, now called the West Coast tribe, is estimated to be 20% more transmissible than the original circulating variant. Another, imported from the UK, is thought to be as much as 50% more transferable. The South African variant is apparently also about 50% more contagious.

There were 6,628 cases of the West Coast tribe in California. As of mid-February, it covers more than half of all samples in California, more than one-third of the samples in Nevada and a quarter of the samples in Arizona.

This week, the CDC stated that the homemade strain is a “variety of concern”, citing the ease of infection and the ability to suppress the body’s immune response.

There were 375 California cases of the variant from the United Kingdom. But it is rising elsewhere. It is found in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and is on track to become the country’s dominant variant.

In Santa Clara County, 15 cases have been linked to this British variant.

Last Saturday, California reported its first case of a dangerous variant from Brazil. It is not known how the patient, a San Bernardino province, contracted his infection. This strain is unique from another Brazilian variant, found in the Bay, but considered less dangerous.