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According to a study by the National Laboratory for Scientific Computing, Lncc, linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology and carried out in conjunction with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Ufrj, the new variant was detected for the first time last October in the city of Rio de Janeiro, capital of the homonymous state.
The researchers highlighted that, for now, the new variant is “partially restricted” to the city, which concentrates the highest number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 in the region, but they warned about a possible spread throughout the state and, consequently , other areas of the South American country.
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“The significant increase in the frequency of this lineage raises concerns about public health management and the need for genomic surveillance during the second wave of infections,” said the scientists in the study, prepared under the coordination of researcher Ana Tereza Vasconcelos .
The new strain was discovered through genetic sequencing of the B.1.1.28 lineage, which has already been circulating in Brazil since the beginning of the year, and the variant is estimated to have emerged in July.
The researchers analyzed 180 SARS-CoV-2 genomes and discovered five “unique mutations”, which “have emerged and rapidly spread.”
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The study, however, does not indicate whether the newly identified strain is more transmissible or more aggressive than those already known in Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic next to the United States and India.
The scientists also noted that there is also “no indication” that the variant may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 that are just beginning to be distributed worldwide.
The state of Rio de Janeiro, after Sao Paulo, is the second region in Brazil with the highest absolute number of deaths from the disease, with almost 25,000 deaths, and the sixth with the most confirmed cases (407,575).
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Across the country, which has a population of about 210 million inhabitants, the coronavirus already leaves more than 187,000 dead and 7.2 million infected.
In recent weeks, Brazil has experienced a new outbreak of the pathogen, forcing several states and municipalities to tighten restrictive measures for the end of the year festivities, which were even canceled in several locations.
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