A UK variant of coronavirus has been identified in Sonoma County



Public health officials reported Tuesday that the most contagious strain of the contagious disease in Sonama County is the UK form of coronavirus.

The change was present in a sample of the local COVID-19 test Monday, notified to county officials by the California Department of Public Health.

The county’s resident health officer, Dr. Kismet Baldwin said the count was discovered after residents of the county went to an unfamiliar local pharmacy to test for the pathogen.

Baldwin said public health investigators should have more information about a person connected to a variety of stressors, including a person’s current travel history and potential contact for others.

On the same day health officials confirmed the presence of different types of United Kingdom in the community, they also reported that Sonoma County has made recent progress in cutting off viral transmission. However, it was not enough for the state to ease the stringent restrictions on public life in local and business locations from the end of the business gust this weekend.

The UK’s most highly contagious infections cannot be detected by state and federal surveillance programs, with the county participating since January.

It was a mystery on Tuesday whether a sample of a particular person’s virus test was sent for genetic analysis to an outside laboratory where the UK strain was discovered and then reported to state health officials, Baldwin said.

“There’s still nothing more to find out if we’re really trying to get this story together,” he said, noting that county officials were told the infected resident and roommates were both apparently alone and others Were not exposed after testing positive. Corona virus.

Members of the local public health staff did not speak to the infected resident after confirming various UK confirmations on Monday. Baldwin notified the county board of supervisors Tuesday during an epidemic update.

“I don’t think there is a possibility of more cases (variants) than this. But we don’t know, and we are investigating the case as soon as we speak, ”he told supervisors.

Dr. John UC Berkeley infectious disease specialist Schwartzberg said the three coronavirus vaccines approved by the federal government each have “very strong” immune responses for people against stress in the UK.

“This is one of the reasons we need to vaccinate people as quickly as possible,” Schwartzberg said.

For weeks, Sonoma County health officials have been expecting the choroid virus to change constantly, as a natural course for the virus, eventually found locally in COVID-19 forms. State and federal surveillance programs that are part of the county aim to identify variants to slow their spread. Both efforts are in their infancy.

Nearly a year after fighting the ongoing epidemic, the U.K. Like the more dangerous COVID-19 variant is the race to vaccinate as many county residents as possible before. These best efforts are being replicated in other parts of California and in many parts of the country and the world.

Baldwin said the UK variable spreads easily and is likely to move quickly across the county and state.

“It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. We don’t know yet, “he said. “We’re watching it, and the state is watching it.”

Schwartzberg said the latest scientific data indicates that the UK variant is 40% and 45% more transmissible than the initial strain of the Covid-19. He said some data suggest it could lead to more serious illness, but such claims are still speculation.

This type is probably present in the United States from September or October, but it did not become prominent until the beginning of January, experts said.

“Right now, it’s doubling every nine to 10 days,” Schwartzberg said of the UK’s tensions. “By the end of this month it will be a potential strain.”

B.1.1.7, which first came out last fall in the United Kingdom, was found in Saint-California.

A type of South African, b. 1.351, shares some characteristics with the UK variable and is considered to be more contagious than the current dominance strain.

And the California variant b. Homegrown variant known as 1429, b. 1429, found in Marin and Lake counties, but not in Sonoma.

County health officials are submitting several samples of residents’ COVID-19 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for analysis to detect coronavirus variants. Baldwin said the county has not yet confirmed the variables found in any of the local samples sent to the CDC.