US detects first case of Brazil strain of virus

MINNEAPOLIS: A new Brazilian variant of the coronavirus has made its first known appearance in the United States in a person who recently returned to Minnesota after travelling to Brazil, state health officials announced on Monday.

The Brazil P.1 variant was found in a specimen from a patient who lives in the Minneapolis-st. Paul area who became ill in the first week of January, the Minnesota department of health said in a statement. Epidemiologists are interviewing the person to obtain more details about their illness, travel and contacts.

There was no immediate indication that the variant was spreading in Minnesota.

Viruses are constantly mutating, and new versions – called variants – often emerge. Health officials are also worried about variants that were first reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Researchers believe they may spread more easily than the virus that has already sickened millions in the United States and caused nearly 420,000 deaths.

The Brazilian variant was first identified in four travellers who were tested at an airport outside Tokyo, Japan. It contains a set of mutations that may affect its ability to be recognised by antibodies, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Minnesota department of health has a programme that conducts regular surveillance for variants.