SARS-CoV-2 Variants - Coronavirus COVID-19 **NO DISCUSSION**

[margarita25]

Tried linking a story on variant found in Kansas, at Fort Hays State University in Hays
Can’t link from I phone for some reason
On WIBW news page

Thank you very much, @303gmf.


Ft. Hays State student-athlete is first in Kansas to test positive for UK variant of COVID-19
Feb. 4, 2020

“TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A student-athlete at Fort Hays State University has tested positive for the U.K. variant of COVID-19.”

—

CIDRAP / COVID-19 challenges continue across US
Feb. 4, 2020

“Kansas identifies first B117 case
In other COVID-19 news, Kansas has identified the state’s first B117 variant case, in a person from Ellis County. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is investigating exposure and possible case contacts. According to the CDC, at least 33 states have reported B117 cases.”

—

Officials: Coronavirus variant likely more common in Kansas
Feb. 3, 2020

“A faster-spreading coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom is probably more widespread in Kansas than a single confirmed case in the state’s northwest suggests, officials with a major health system said Thursday.“

—

 

[margarita25]

Coronavirus variants are cause for concern, but future mutations may be the real problem.
The tiny spike proteins that cover the outside of the virus are crucial to vaccine efficacy. They're also changing.

“An early analysis from Moderna found that while its vaccine appears to be less effective against the South African variant, antibodies remained above protective levels. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is only slightly less effective against the South African strain, according to a study that hasn't yet been peer-reviewed.“

—

“Another mutation, called E484K, could help the virus dodge some attack by a person's immune system and may affect how well coronavirus vaccines work.“

South Africa coronavirus variant: What is the risk?
3 days ago

 

[margarita25]

Worrisome coronavirus mutation seen in U.K. variant and in some U.S. samples
Feb. 2, 2021

“A coronavirus mutation that appears to limit the protection of vaccines against infection has appeared in the United Kingdom, which is already struggling with a highly transmissible and apparently more lethal virus variant.

The worrisome mutation, at a site on the virus RNA called E484K, has drawn close scrutiny from infectious-disease experts, who have given it the nickname “Eeek.”

In addition to its appearance in the U.K. variant, it has been seen in variants that spread rapidly in South Africa and Brazil. It has also been identified in recent days in a handful of cases in the United States. Two new cases of the South Africa variant were confirmed Tuesday just outside the nation’s capital, in Montgomery County.“

[...]

“The “Eeek” mutation is not actually new: It has reared up in genomic sequences many times since the start of the pandemic, and virologists have long understood that it was potentially problematic. But it appears to do little in isolation, and gained widespread attention only recently, after it began appearing in tandem with other mutations in the rapidly spreading variants in South Africa and Brazil, said Greg Armstrong, director of the advanced molecular detection program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.“

 

[margarita25]

These are some good insights over the past month related to Covid variants. Author: Daniel Lucey, M.D. MPH, FIDSA, FACP

UK data on a “realistic probability” of increased risk of death due to variant B.1.1.7 | Science Speaks: Global ID News (sciencespeaksblog.org)

Nosocomial COVID spread by variants: A Berlin hospital stops admissions and puts staff under “shuttle quarantine” | Science Speaks: Global ID News (sciencespeaksblog.org)

Bivalent COVID vaccines: When will studies begin in order to stay ahead of the multiple known (and unknown) variants? | Science Speaks: Global ID News (sciencespeaksblog.org)

South Africa COVID vaccine results cause Novavax to begin work immediately on ”a booster and/or combination bivalent vaccine” | Science Speaks: Global ID News (sciencespeaksblog.org)

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

Officials warn of 3rd wave sparked by COVID-19 variants as Canada surpasses 820K cases

 

[weepingangel]

Extraordinary Patient Offers Surprising Clues To Origins Of Coronavirus Variants

 

[margarita25]

Covid-19: The U.S. Has Its Own New Worrisome Variants


“As Americans anxiously watch the spread of coronavirus variants that were first identified in Britain and South Africa, scientists are finding a number of new variants that seem to have originated in the United States — and many of them may pose the same kind of extra-contagious threat.

In a study posted on Sunday, a team of researchers reported seven growing lineages of the coronavirus, spotted in states across the country. All have gained a mutation at the exact same spot in their genes.

“There’s clearly something going on with this mutation,” said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and a co-author of the new study.“

 

[margarita25]

New Covid variant and children: CDC doesn't know if variants cause rare complication in kids - CNN
January 27, 2021

“The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday it does not know if the new Covid-19 variants are causing more cases of a rare complication in children called multisystem inflammatory syndrome.“

 

[anneg]

Eric Ding has a thread on #B117 and talks about the variant in Florida
https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1361740824673996808

 

[margarita25]

Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Lineage ...
Jan. 15, 2021

 

[margarita25]

2 B117s - Kent & Bristol

 

[margarita25]

CIDRAP / CDC head warns vigilance needed in light of COVID-19 variant B117

 

[margarita25]

Variants
outbreak.info

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

'Double mutant': What are the risks of India's new Covid-19 variant

 

[margarita25]

B117-detailed history of emergence, etc.:

Variant of concern

(Courtesy of @nhmemorymaker)

 

[margarita25]

This report is from March 17 but I just heard about the Breton variant for the first time on the radio this morning. (There is debate about whether travellers from France coming into Ireland should have to go into mandatory hotel quarantine given the severe Covid situation there currently.)

Latest Covid-19 Variant Discovered In France Isn’t Detected By Standard PCR Tests

A new variant of the novel coronavirus has been identified in the French region of Brittany. On Monday evening, the French Ministry of Health put out a statement that said the mutation was found by way of genomic sequencing in a cluster of infections in a hospital in the town of Lannion. Eight of 79 Covid-19 patients turned out to be carriers of the new variant, nicknamed “le variant breton.” Initially they tested negative with gold-standard PCR tests, despite presenting with typical symptoms of Covid-19. But later, coronavirus infection was confirmed with analysis of blood samples and tissue in the respiratory system. All 8 patients have since died.

(...)

What’s remarkable about this particular mutation is that the novel coronavirus may have already evolved in such a way as to bypass detection by conventional PCR tests. Last month, Finnish researchers also discovered a new variant that is undetected by at least one standard PCR test, though evidently not all conventional PCR tests, as appears to be the case with the new variant found in France. As a result, the World Health Organization has assigned the latest variant to the category “variants under investigation.”

The announcement came as France and most of the rest of Europe battle a resurgence in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, driven in part by the B.1.1.7 variant which has become dominant throughout the continent.

(More at link)

Latest Covid-19 Variant Discovered In France Isn’t Detected By Standard PCR Tests