Cuomo Confirms 1st Case of New, More Contagious U.K. Strain of Virus in New York

[Eugene]

Source: WNBC-TV

Cuomo Confirms 1st Case of New, More Contagious U.K. Strain of Virus in New York

New York is believed to be the fourth state to report a confirmed case of a newest variant of the coronavirus

By Brian Price • Published 3 hours ago • Updated 18 mins ago

New York joined a growing number of states on Monday to confirm the presence of a new strain of the coronavirus that's believed to be at least 50 percent more contagious.

A man in his 60s living in upstate New York has tested positive for the U.K. strain of the coronavirus, known as B.1.1.7., Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on a press call Monday afternoon.

The Saratoga County man had not traveled recently, leading state officials to believe he got the virus through community spread, Cuomo said. "He was symptomatic, but he is on the mend and he's doing better," Cuomo added.

The governor says the man is linked to a jewelry store in Saratoga Springs. He advised anyone who had contact with N. Fox Jewelers at 404 Broadway between Dec. 18-24 to get tested immediately. (The store has been closed since Dec. 24).

Andrew Cuomo
@NYGovCuomo
NEW: The Wadsworth Lab has confirmed New York State’s first case of the U.K. variant (B.1.1.7) of the virus that causes COVID.

An individual from Saratoga County, New York, tested positive for the strain. The individual had no known travel history.
3:02 PM · Jan 4, 2021

Link to tweet

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Read more: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/cuomo-confirms-case-of-new-more-contagious-u-k-strain-of-virus-in-new-york/2811244/

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. How are the strains detected?

[Eugene]

2. According to BMJ, random genetic testing of positive cases found changes to a key protein.

What do we know about this new SARS-CoV-2 variant?

It’s been snappily named VUI-202012/01 (the first “Variant Under Investigation” in December 2020) and is defined by a set of 17 changes or mutations. One of the most significant is an N501Y mutation in the spike protein that the virus uses to bind to the human ACE2 receptor. Changes in this part of spike protein may, in theory, result in the virus becoming more infectious and spreading more easily between people.

How was the variant detected?

It was picked up by the Covid-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium, which undertakes random genetic sequencing of positive covid-19 samples around the UK. The consortium is a partnership of the UK’s four public health agencies, as well as the Wellcome Sanger Institute and 12 academic institutions.

Since being set up in April 2020 the consortium has sequenced 140 000 virus genomes from people infected with covid-19. It uses the data to track outbreaks, identify variant viruses, and publish a weekly report (https://www.cogconsortium.uk/data/).

https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4857

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Thanks for the reply! Very informative.

Thank God for Science....