College Station is best known as the home of Texas A&M University, but as of this month, researchers have confirmed that it is now the birthplace of a new COVID-19 strain.
Only one student tested positive for BV-1, named after the Brazos Valley. They were diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 5 and experienced mild breathing symptoms. A second test on March 25 yielded positive results, prompting researchers to worry that the variant would cause longer infection in young adults.
“We do not currently know the full meaning of this variant, but it has a combination of mutations similar to other internationally notifiable variants,” Ben Neuman, a Texas A&M virologist, said in a statement. “This variant combines genetic markers separately that are associated with rapid spread, serious diseases and high resistance to neutralizing antibodies.”
The student tested negative for COVID-19 on April 9, more than a month after they became infected. Researchers are examining laboratory results from asymptomatic individuals to determine if the variant is more common in the Brazos Valley region.
Viruses mutate to ensure that they survive and enter the bodies of as many hosts as possible. Scientists nationwide have found thousands of COVID-19 variants, but only a few spread among thousands of patients. A more contagious variant from the UK, called B.1.1.7, started spreading in Houston in March and is now the dominant strain in the region.
Variants may pose a problem for vaccine manufacturers, who are studying whether the vaccines available under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s authorization for emergency use are effective in preventing severe symptoms of mutated viruses. The current surveys – Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – are effective against the variants currently in circulation, experts said.
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