(KNSI) – The Minnesota Department of Health’s Public Health Laboratory has found the first documented case of the Brazil P.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant in the United States.
Like the B.1.1.7 variant first discovered in Britain, the P.1 strain is believed to be more transmissible than other COVID-19 virus variants in circulation.
The MDH said Monday that the lab found the Brazil P.1 sample through its variant surveillance program, and the patient who provided the sample lives in the Twin Cities metro area. They had symptoms during the first week of January, and when they first tested positive, the patient told case investigators they had recently traveled to Brazil. Their sample was collected on January 9th.
“These cases illustrate why it is so important to limit travel during a pandemic as much as possible,” state epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield said. “If you must travel, it is important to watch for symptoms of COVID-19, follow public health guidance on getting tested prior to travel, use careful protective measures during travel and quarantine and get tested after travel.”
MDH says its case investigators will interview the patient again to learn more about their travel history and close contacts. The department did not indicate that there is evidence of community spread of the P.1 variant in Minnesota.
“We’re thankful that our testing program helped us find this case, and we thank all Minnesotans who seek out testing when they feel sick or otherwise have reason to get a test,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said. “We know that even as we work hard to defeat COVID-19, the virus continues to evolve as all viruses do. That’s yet another reason why we want to limit COVID-19 transmission – the fewer people who get COVID-19, the fewer opportunities the virus has to evolve.”
The state is up to eight lab-confirmed B.1.1.7 COVID-19 cases. However, MDH says more B.1.1.7 infections are expected to exist through community spread.
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