Coronavirus variant first seen in Los Angeles has spread around the world

The coronavirus variant first seen in

Los Angeles in July now accounts for about 44% of new infections in Southern California and more than a third of new infections throughout the state, researchers reported Thursday.

In addition, the strain has spread across the United States and to six countries across the globe, according to their study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It “remains uncertain” whether the genetic changes that characterize the fastmoving variant have improved its ability to transmit from person to person, or to make people infected with it sicker, a team from Cedars-sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles acknowledged in the JAMA report. But the virus’ rapid expansion in

California is a cause for some concern, they wrote.

The homegrown variant is distinct from other versions of the virus present in the U.S., including the B.1.1.7 strain from the United Kingdom and the B.1.351 strain from South Africa. But like those new strains, it is defined by several mutations in the virus’ spike protein, the “docking mechanism” the virus uses to latch on to human cells.

One of the California variant’s five mutations, known to scientists as L452R, could alter a particularly critical part of the spike protein called the receptor binding domain.

A study conducted last year by Howard University researchers found that the mutation helps the virus attach more firmly to human cells. It therefore has the potential to enhance the virus’ transmission.