HealthRadar360
Another new variant of Coronavirus is on the surge. After B.1.1.7 in Britain, there is a new strain of the virus. Initially, the virus was detected in Denmark, Northern Europe in March. By May, it reached all the way to California. As per the source, the strain L452R is causing several outbreaks in Northern California. The most noticeable one is in San Jose Hospital in Santa Clara County.
According to the officials at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, a staff member who wore an inflatable air-powered Christmas costume to cheer up the people may cause the spread of infection.
The event resulted in 90 infections and a loss of life of the hospital receptionist. Along with it, several incidents are of great concern, such as the surge of positive cases in county jails and skilled nursing facilities.
The Public Health Department Of Santa Clara County announced other places where the virus has been detected. These places include Humboldt, Lake, Los Angeles, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Francisco, San Bernardino, San Diego, and San Luis Obispo counties.
From the above-mentioned information, there is not any uncertainty that the virus is soaring high in California. However, genetic sequencing is in the process in the meantime. According to the source, by November, the new strain only infected 3.8% of individuals. But now, the circumstances are entirely different. Just from mid of December to the start of January, the positive ratio has spiked up. Among people whose samples were subjected to genetic sequencing, 25.2% of them came out positive.
US Dominant Strain
However, to this date, it is not yet confirmed whether L452R is more contagious than B.1.1.7 or not. However, it is different from the earlier identified strain of COVID-19 (B.1.1.7). According to the Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), the UK variant will be the dominant Coronavirus strain by this March.
Virus Senstivity To Existing Vaccines
According to Charles Chiu, a Virologist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), this variant has three mutations in its spike proteins which are the major target of vaccines. Further, he said, as the variant is on the rise in a community, they are “prioritizing it for study.” Researchers will now be able to study the virulence of strain and its response to the vaccination.
We hope you guys have already gone through our previous articles regarding COVID-19. In addition to it, we are looking forward to keeping you people updated about the L452R.
