The new, probably likely faster distribution of COVID-19 detected in South Africa has arrived, according to the Houston Methodist Hospital in the Houston area.
The hospital system said it found on Saturday the first case of the disturbing tension in the region while the genome of positive test results was sequenced. Two cases have also been found of the variant first discovered in the UK, which was only confirmed in the Houston area in early January.
Early evidence has shown that both variants can spread faster than the current predominant strain. More than 600 cases of the British strain have been reported in 33 states, while Texas is only the fourth state to confirm a case concerning the South African variant, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control. Maryland has three cases, South Carolina has two and Virginia has one.
The infected person is a man in Fort Bend County who tested positive weeks ago and recovered from the disease, Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson Minter, director of health and human services in Fort Bend County, said. The patient traveled domestically in December before his diagnosis and became ill a few days after his return to Fort Bend. His housemates tested negative, and he did not work while infected, so there was no exposure to his work, Minter said.
Still, Minter said she would not be surprised to hear that the South African variant is spreading through the community.
“I think it’s important to note that this event took place a few weeks ago, and what we have been doing throughout will continue to protect us as we wait our turn with the vaccine,” Minter said. “We still wear our masks, we keep our distance, and we continue to practice good hand hygiene. This will protect us from COVID, whatever variant we come in contact with. ”
The British case involved two men from Houston, one of whom is in his 50s and is currently being admitted to hospital with the virus.
Dr David Persse, the health authority in Houston, said the latter cases are evidence that the British tribe is here and spreading through the community, and it serves as a reminder to stay vigilant.
He said contact detectives have not yet been able to commit new cases to it, but that is more recent than the case in Fort Bend County. Health workers found ‘very low levels’ of the British variant in the city’s wastewater sampling program.
“The end is, and it really is no surprise, but the British variant was not just one case a month ago in Harris County,” Persse said. ‘That man probably got infected here. It’s here. It now appears on the Methodist radars, it now appears in hospitals, it now appears in the wastewater. ”
Dr. Wesley Long, who is working on the Methodist sequencing effort, said there was no evidence from the clinical trials of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that it was less effective against the variant, especially the British strain. The CDC said some preliminary evidence shows that the Moderna vaccine may be less effective, but more study is needed.
Long said there is also limited evidence that certain other vaccines and therapies that focus on the COVID-19 protein may be less effective than the South African variant, although it should still provide benefits to most people. South Africa recently discontinued the use of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford after evidence emerged that it did not protect against mild to moderate diseases.
The CDC says ‘strict and increased adherence’ to mitigation strategies such as social distance and wearing masks is necessary to curb the spread of the virus.
“These variants appear to spread more easily and rapidly than other variants, which could lead to more cases of COVID-19,” the CDC warns on its website. “An increase in the number of cases will put more pressure on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations and possibly deaths.”