A scientist at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Flagstaff prepares to work with a live sample of COVID-19./Cronkite News Photo
By Amanda Morris | Arizona Republic
A scientist at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Flagstaff prepares to work with a live sample of COVID-19.
Arizona State University researchers have found a home-grown variant of the coronavirus emerging in Arizona that they say should be monitored closely because it carries a mutation known for weakening vaccines.
In a non-peer reviewed study that published Sunday, researchers said they have detected 17 cases of the new variant since February, 15 of which were in Arizona. The other two cases were found in Houston in late February and New Mexico in early March, suggesting that the variant has begun to spread.
“My hope is that we do not see more of these cases. The whole point of surveillance is to keep this from spreading,” said Dr. Efrem Lim, an ASU virologist and assistant professor.
The variant is known as the B.1.243.1 variant, and descends from a common lineage of the virus called B.1.243, which nationally makes up about 2.5% of all cases, according to David Engelthaler, director of the Translational Genomics Research Institute’s infectious disease division in Flagstaff.
David Engelthaler is co-director of TGen’s Pathogen and Microbiome Division, the institute’s infectious disease branch.
“It’s not dominant. But, there’s a fair amount of that lineage that has been able to hang around,” Engelthaler said. “It seems to have picked up this E484K mutation, what we call the ‘eek!'”
This E484K mutation has also been seen in the variants first detected in South Africa and Brazil, as well as one new variant recently discovered in New York.
