March 03, 2021 — Houston has had instances of each regarding variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, in response to a big new genome sequencing research.

Public well being authorities have flagged the six variants recognized in the research as problematic, as a result of they’ve gene adjustments which will make the virus extra contagious or assist it escape immunity from vaccines or previous infections.

The brand new discovering comes as Texas Governor Greg Abbott introduced that he would carry the masks mandate there, and “open Texas 100%.”

The preprint research, which has not but been totally vetted by exterior scientists, decoded genomes of SARS-CoV2 viruses remoted from greater than 20,400 COVID sufferers, a quantity that represents about 4% of all the COVID instances seen in that metropolis over the previous yr. 

Houston is the fourth largest metropolis in the U.S. with an ethnically numerous inhabitants and a global port.  It’s additionally residence to some of the nation’s prime virus hunters.

The research used a big sufficient pattern of viruses to present a “deep and real looking” image of the scenario there, stated Keith Jerome, MD, PhD, head of the virology division at the College of Washington, in Seattle.

“It is a very spectacular piece of work,” stated Jerome, who was not concerned in the analysis. “It’s one of the most complete appears that we have had of the viruses in a given space anyplace in the United States.”

The research’s authors say that Houston could also be the first metropolis to seek out all the variants, but it surely in all probability isn’t the just one to have them.

“it is seemingly that there are different cities in the nation which have all these variants and easily aren’t conscious,” stated research writer Wesley Lengthy, MD, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist Hospital.

The genomes analyzed for the research date again to March 2020. The Houston Methodist well being system is an element of a world community of genome sequencing labs known as the ARTIC Community, which is all the time on the lookout for brand spanking new viral variants.

The variants detected in the research first confirmed up in testing in December, Lengthy says, and extra instances had been detected in January and February of this yr.