The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced on Monday that they have confirmed the first case of Brazil P.1 COVID variant.
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The patient with the Brazil P.1 variant is a resident of the Twin Cities metro area, who recently traveled to Brazil prior to becoming ill.
The researchers reported that Brazil P.1 could be “potentially associated with an increase in transmissibility or propensity for reinfection of individuals.”
The new lineage, named P.1 (descendent of B.1.1.28) contains a unique constellation of lineage defining mutations, including several mutations of known biological importance such as E484K, K417T, and N501Y. Importantly, the P.1 lineage was identified in 42% (13 out of 31) RT-PCR positive samples collected between 15 to 23 December, but it was absent in 26 publicly available genome surveillance samples collected in Manaus between March to November 2020.
Prof. Nuno R. Faria & Prof. Ester C. Sabino
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