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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.
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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– We have no evidence that this mutation represents a greater danger. But it shows that the coronavirus circulates with intensity in the state, that social distancing and vigilance measures are essential – emphasizes Vasconcelos.
Researchers are still investigating whether the identified strain is now more transmissible, reports Amilcar Tanuri, one of the authors of the work and coordinator of the Molecular Virology Laboratory of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). If this form identified in Rio is spread even more easily, it could explain part of the increase in cases registered in the state since November, says the UFRJ professor.
Like the newly discovered strain in the UK, 94% of the samples belonging to this Rio variant have a mutation, called E484K, in the gene called protein S.
– We emphasize that there is no reason to panic. Viruses are subject to mutations. The identification of this strain shows that we must intensify genetic testing and surveillance. The discovery also highlights the importance of social distance measures and the use of a mask, Tanuri notes.
The analysis of the characteristics of the new variant, carried out by Carolina Voloch and Ronaldo da Silva Jr, showed that it emerged in July and was identified in 38 samples of coronavirus genomes isolated from people with Covid-19 in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The study analyzed data from ten cities and the scientists’ hypothesis is that the new lineage has spread from the municipality of Rio.
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The researchers are now analyzing the December data to investigate whether this strain has become dominant, as it did in the UK with the other variant of the coronavirus. The latter, Vasconcelos observes, has yet to be found in Brazil.
The State of Rio is one of the countries that most deposited genetic sequences of the Brazilian coronavirus in world gene banks, in this study there were 180 genomes in total.
Tanuri says the newly discovered mutations could be a global phenomenon, due to adaptations of the coronavirus as it spreads around the world.
Therefore, genetic surveillance is essential to detect changes in the virus before they cause problems, “he adds.
