RIO – Scientists have discovered a new strain of the coronavirus in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is derived from B.1.1.28, the strain that was already in circulation in Brazil since the beginning of the year. The study does not indicate that the new strain is more transmissible or aggressive, it only reports its discovery. As for the other Sars-CoV-2 strains, there is no evidence that it can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines that are beginning to reach the world, the researchers stress.
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It was identified by genetic sequencing. The samples of 180 Sars-CoV-2 genomes that circulate in the state of Rio de Janeiro were sequenced by the Bioinformatics Laboratory of the National Laboratory for Scientific Computing (LNCC), in Petrópolis, under the coordination of Ana Tereza Vasconcelos.
Of the 180 genomes, 38 had mutations that indicate it is a new strain, Vasconcelos explains. Sixty percent of the genomes are from the municipality of Rio de Janeiro.
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The data analysis was carried out in conjunction with the Molecular Virology Laboratory of the UFRJ, among other institutions. The work is part of Rede Coronaômica, MCTI and Rede Fluminense de Ômicas, supported by Faperj. The work was published on the LNCC website and submitted to medRxiv.
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