Laboratory detects first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus in São Paulo | Saint Paul

The finding was reported to the Adolfo Lutz Institute and the Health Surveillance.

The variant, called B.1.1.7, has already been registered in at least 17 other countries. It has mutations that affect the way the virus attaches itself to human cells and is 56% more contagious. There is no evidence that the variant causes more severe cases or a higher death rate, even if it is resistant to vaccines.

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In the UK, it already accounts for more than 50% of newly diagnosed cases, according to the World Health Organization.

The Brazilian laboratory study that identified this version of the coronavirus began in mid-December, when the United Kingdom published the first scientific information on the variant.

The company indicated that 400 RT-PCR saliva samples were analyzed and that the strain was confirmed by genetic sequencing, in partnership with the Institute of Tropical Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (IMT-FMUSP). Two patients had the new variant.

The laboratory said it is working with the USP Institute of Tropical Medicine to generate material that will allow testing the efficiency of coronavirus diagnostic tests.

The concern is that current tests can show false negatives, when a person is sick but the test does not indicate the presence of the virus.

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