Another variant of COVID-19 has reached Dallas County, according to health officials.
The variant, known as B.1.621, or mu, was added to the World Health Organization’s list of variants of interest on August 30.
A strain is considered a variant of interest if it causes significant community transmission or if it has genetic characteristics indicating that it may affect factors such as disease severity and resistance to vaccines or treatment. This is a cut below the worrying variants, which are circulating more widely.
While health experts say the new variant is not yet a threat, it is important to watch for the emerging strain. Here’s what you need to know.
Where does the mu variant come from?
The mu variant was first detected in Colombia in January, according to the WHO.
The variant has since spread to 39 countries, and its prevalence in Colombia and Ecuador has “steadily increased,” according to the WHO.
How widespread is it?
The delta variant still accounted for over 99% of cases in the United States at the end of August, meaning that the mu variant is not yet of concern.
It is estimated that 2,400 cases of the variant were detected in the United States in early September, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, a database of coronaviruses and influenza viruses around the world.
All states but one, Nebraska, have recorded cases of the strain, according to data compiled by the Center for Viral Systems Biology at Scripps Research.
In Dallas County, health officials have recorded five cases of the mu variant, said Dr Jeffrey SoRelle, assistant instructor in the Department of Pathology at UT Southwestern Medical Center who is co-leading an effort to analyze COVID tests -19.
He said the cases were detected between late July and early mid-August, but as the analysis for COVID-19 tests takes one to two weeks, it is possible that more will emerge.
Not all of the cases were related to travel, indicating community spread, he said. UTSW researchers do not yet know if any of the five cases involved people who had been vaccinated.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yet to give the mu variant an official classification, Dr.Anthony Fauci, America’s leading infectious disease expert, said the United States is actively monitoring it.
How is the mu variant different?
The mu variant contains mutations on the spike protein found on the virus that causes COVID-19, SoRelle said.
The mutations are similar to those found on variant B.1.1.7, or alpha, originating in the UK and variant P.1, or gamma, first identified in travelers from Brazil.
Prior to the arrival of the highly contagious delta variant, the alpha variant was considered to be more transmissible than the 2020 strain of COVID-19. Mu’s transmissibility is likely to be somewhere between alpha and delta, SoRelle said.
“So far we have seen [mu] in the United States, Connecticut and the Virgin Islands, being present at prevalence levels as high as 8%, ”he said. “But it seems that it does not surpass the delta, and more recently the levels [of mu] have actually declined quite a bit in these areas.
Do the vaccines work against the variant?
Fauci said the mu strain of COVID-19 “has a constellation of mutations that suggest it escapes certain antibodies,” but more data is needed to know for sure what that means, The New York Times reported.
He also said current vaccines are still effective against other COVID-19 variants with similar characteristics.
The WHO also says preliminary data has revealed that COVID-19 vaccines may not be as effective against the strain, but more studies are needed to confirm this finding.
Pfizer said The Washington Post that he was studying the effect of his vaccine on the variant and planned to collect data for peer review.
“To date, we are encouraged by both actual data and laboratory studies of the vaccine and see no evidence that the virus or circulating variants of concern routinely escape protection,” said the Pfizer spokesperson. , Kit Longley.
What does this mean for Dallas County?
SoRelle and the UT Southwestern team are only sequencing COVID-19 testing from UT Southwestern vendors, which means they still have a somewhat limited view of the actual prevalence of COVID-19 variants.
But he said that compared to statewide numbers, the team’s analysis of testing matches overall trends.
He said that while the presence of the variant in places like Colombia is of concern, the best way to tell how the strain will behave in Dallas County is to monitor trends in places with similar levels of transmission.
“The best comparison for Dallas would be a location in the United States that has both delta and the newer variants,” SoRelle said. “And in these situations, the delta actually passes them.”
People should see the presence of the mu strain as a reason to get vaccinated if they haven’t, or as a reason to follow the recall recommendations when they roll out towards the end of the month, SoRelle said. .
“In this case, you didn’t have that much transmissibility, so it’s not going to spread much and have immune resistance, but you might have a future. [variant] it does, ”he said. “This is just further proof that this is a good reason to go ahead and get a callback if you have the chance.”