In Minnesota, a case of a more infectious coronavirus variant first discovered in Brazil has been confirmed, the health department of the state said in a statement on Monday. In the United States, it is the first reported case of the variant.
The case was found in a resident of Minnesota who had recently traveled to Brazil, the department said, which may mean that the variant might not be widely circulating yet.
It’s only a matter of time before the variant was discovered in the United States, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s advisor to the pandemic.
“With the world travel that you have, and the degree of transmissibility efficiency, it’s not surprising,” he said.
The variant, known as B.1.1.28.1 or P.1, shares several mutations with one in South Africa that was first identified. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the companies have said, still, protect against the variant circulating in South Africa, but they are slightly less powerful. A similar performance against the variant described in Brazil is expected.
More transmissible, but just as vulnerable to vaccinations as the original form of the virus, is the strain found in Britain. But the variants have additional mutations in Brazil and South Africa that could help elude the vaccines.
“The amount of concern that I have between the U.K. variant, and the South African/Brazilian is much, much different,” Dr. Fauci said.
In 22 states, the variant identified in Britain has been confirmed, and in the United States, the variant found in South Africa has not yet been confirmed.
The person with the reported case is a Minneapolis-St. resident. Metropolitan region of Paul, the department said. During the first week of January, the patient became ill and the sample was collected on Jan. 9, it said.
Health department inspectors had met with the individual after the test was positive for Covid-19, and before becoming ill, the individual had traveled to Brazil. The person was told to isolate and quarantine members of the household.
Additional interviews with the person are performed by health officials to learn more about the disease, travel, and close contacts.