North Carolina reports its first case of the new, more contagious COVID-19 strain
North Carolina has identified its first case of a new highly infectious strain of the coronavirus.
The variant was found in a sample from an adult in Mecklenburg County, according to a North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services press release. No other information about the case was released.
“While expected, identification of this COVID-19 variant in North Carolina is concerning, especially at the same time as we are already seeing very high numbers of cases,” said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of NC DHHS, in a news release Saturday.
Scientists in the United Kingdom concluded it made up “a substantial majority” of the cases found in England in December and was spreading rapidly throughout the nation.
Nearly 200 cases have been reported in 21 states as of Jan. 22, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The case “means that we need to be even more vigilant in our prevention measures to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said in a statement.
People should only leave their homes for essential needs and work and avoid gathering with people outside of their home, she said.
On Jan. 6, Gov. Roy Cooper cautioned North Carolina residents to act as if the new strain already had been detected.
“This should inspire every one of us to double down on safety precautions,” Cooper said.
While scientists are still studying the new strain, and whether it can result in more severe symptoms or illness, its high infection rate could make it harder to end the COVID-19 pandemic, said David Weber, medical director of the UNC Statewide Program in Infection Control and Epidemiology, in an interview with The News & Observer earlier this month.
“If the virus is more transmissible, then it means that the outbreak is going to be prolonged and we’d need a higher number of people either infected or immunized to stop the outbreak,” Weber said.
People who have already contracted the virus develop antibodies against it, while immunization stops people from getting sick.
The first United States case of the U.K. strain — also known as B.1.1.7 — was discovered in Colorado on Dec. 29. Since then, several other states have reported cases, including California and, Georgia. Earlier this month, the Chattanooga Times Free-Press reported that Baylor University researchers believe they have discovered cases of the new strain in samples dating from Dec. 8 and Dec. 22, before the Colorado case was identified.
Beginning in November, the N.C. State Laboratory of Public Health began submitting five specimens to the CDC’s National SARS-CoV-2 Strain Surveillance program every two weeks, said Amy Ellis, a spokeswoman with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, earlier this month. On Dec. 28, the CDC lab began requesting 31 samples every two weeks.
“Specimens are selected at random,” Ellis wrote in an email to The N&O earlier in January. “However, we are making sure to represent a variety of demographics, clinical characteristics and geographic locations, per CDC’s request for a diverse sampling.”
More infectious strain
The more infectious strain comes at a particularly dangerous point in the pandemic, Weber said, as COVID-19 is already surging in the state.
That could mean more infections, even as the state’s health care workers are already facing the most taxing stretch of a pandemic they have been fighting since March.
According to British scientists, the new strain has several mutations, including one in the virus’ spike protein that allows it to bind to human cells more easily.
At a Dec. 21 press conference, World Health Organization officials said data indicate those who are infected with the new strain could go on to infect 1.5 people, compared to 1.1 people for those who are infected with strains that don’t have the spike protein variation.
The transmission rate needs to be pushed below one for the COVID-19 pandemic to begin to stop, Weber said. That becomes more difficult with a more infectious strain because it is more likely to infect someone who has not already had COVID-19 or has not taken a vaccine.
“As the virus becomes more infectious, you need a larger number of people immune by one mechanism or another to protect those who have not acquired disease,” Weber said.
Factors scientists are investigating include whether the new strain results in more hospitalizations and more deaths than older strains of COVID-19.
While evidence is scant due to the developing nature of the virus, British scientists tracked 1,340 people infected with the new strain and 1,360 people infected with older strains. Twelve of those infected with the new strain died within a month of infection, while 10 of the people with older strains died.
Joe Marusak of The Charlotte Observer contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 10:20 AM.