FIRST U.S. CASE OF NEW VIRUS VARIANT CONFIRMED
More contagious mutation found in man in Colorado
The first United States case of the more contagious coronavirus variant that was initially discovered in Britain was found in Colorado on Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis said, raising the worrisome possibility that the variant is already well established in the patient’s community — and perhaps elsewhere.
“It didn’t teleport across the Atlantic,” said William Hanage, a public health researcher at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The variant was detected in a man in his 20s with no travel history, Polis said. The man was in isolation in Elbert County, southeast of Denver, he said.
Hanage said the newly reported case “should not be cause for panic.” But, he added, “it is cause to redouble our efforts
at preventing the virus from getting the opportunity to spread,” he said.
Scientists are worried about variants but not surprised by them. It is normal for viruses to mutate, and most of the mutations of the coronavirus have proved minor.
There’s no evidence that an infection with the variant — known as B.1.1.7 — is more likely to lead to a severe case of COVID-19, increase the risk of death, or evade the new vaccines.
But the speed at which the variant seems to spread could lead to more infections and more hospitalizations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Tuesday that it expected “there will be additional cases that are likely to be detected in the coming days.”
The case identified Tuesday came from Elbert County, Colo., with a population of 27,000. Colorado’s cases, deaths and hospitalizations have been steadily falling.
It’s not clear where B.1.1.7 arose. The United Kingdom has the biggest system for sequencing the genomes of coronaviruses, which may be why the variant was first found there.
Cases of the variant have been identified in more than a dozen countries.
Earlier this month, British researchers observed that the variant was becoming more prevalent in parts of Britain. Their subsequent investigations suggest that the variant spreads more readily than others in circulation.
It’s not yet clear why B.1.1.7 transmits more easily. The lineage has accumulated 23 mutations since it split off from other coronaviruses. Researchers are investigating some of the mutations to see if they allow the viruses to invade cells more readily or make more copies of themselves.
The British government has responded to the emergence of B.1.1.7 by enforcing stronger restrictions on people’s movements and the size of gatherings.
In a preliminary study, British researchers found that schools may need to be closed and vaccination programs accelerated to prevent a huge surge in cases.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson raised the alarm over the variant spreading in England on Dec. 19 and imposed the new lockdown. As of late last week, more than 50 governments had imposed restrictions on travelers from Britain.
A new rule in the United States mandating that incoming travelers from Britain — including American citizens — show proof of a negative coronavirus test upon entry was announced late Christmas Eve and went into effect Monday.
Hanage said that the U.S. must improve how it monitors the genetic sequences of circulating viruses to track their spread.
It is conceivable that the new variant might have fueled recent outbreaks in the Midwest and Rhode Island, for example, but scientists do not know because public health officials have not been tracking the viruses carefully enough across the entire country.