A new variant of the coronavirus has emerged in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon and has reignited an international alert.

Scientists are now striving to unravel the mysteries of this variant that has already been identified in eight countries, and it may be more infectious, although little is still known about it.

There are indications that the one known as 'P.1' may be one of the factors behind the explosion of COVID-19 cases in Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, where health services have been completely overwhelmed.

With a higher number of mutations, it is also studied whether the Brazilian is more dangerous than the variants found in the United Kingdom and South Africa, which are the three that most concern the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the midst of this worrying finding, the pandemic is hitting all of Brazil once again, which already accumulates 222,666 deaths and 9.1 million cases, according to official data.

The first alarm was raised by the Japanese authorities on January 9, after analyzing the samples of four passengers who arrived a week earlier in Tokyo after traveling for a season through Amazon.

A preliminary investigation by the Brazilian Foundation Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), a leading medical research center in Latin America, indicated that this new variant is a “recent phenomenon.”

It was probably developed in December and evolved from variants that were in circulation in Amazon.

Twelve mutations have been identified only in that “spike” protein of the Brazilian variant, three of them are of particular concern: K417N, E484K, N501Y.

These three sets of letters and numbers represent amino acids of the "spike," whose mutation is associated with a greater power of transmissibility. They would help the virus to replicate more and better assemble with the cell's entry receptor.

At the moment, it is unknown if this new variant produces more serious pictures of the disease.

The Brazilian did not emerge from the British or the South African.

All three evolved independently and arose sporadically in all three countries, although some of the mutations identified in the spike protein have been found to be the same.

Scientists believe that the Brazilian could be the most "dangerous," at least due to the number of mutations identified in the "spike" protein: 12 compared to the 8 found in the British or 10 in South African.

The samples analyzed in December, by Fiocruz, detected P.1 in 51% of the cases in Manaus. That percentage has soared to 91% in January, indicating that it is spreading fast and has become the predominant lineage in the Amazon.

All this, together with the new variant and the scarce hospital infrastructure of Amazonas, has caused the collapse of its health system and an oxygen shortage for critically ill patients that could have caused more deaths.

According to the experts consulted, if this new variant is established throughout the territory, which may already be happening, it is possible that it will worsen the delicate health situation of the country.

Former Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who was dismissed in the middle of the pandemic by President Jair Bolsonaro for defending isolation, warned in an interview on local television that the new variant could cause a "mega-epidemic" in 60 days if not action is taken.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cases of this new lineage have already been identified in seven other countries in addition to Brazil: Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, South Korea, and Ireland.

Some of these nations and others, such as Portugal, Peru, Turkey, or Colombia, have suspended flights from Brazil due to fear of P.1.

SHOTLIST:

1. Various of neighborhoods in Brazil
2. various of people on the streets of Brazil
3. Various of streets of Brazil
4. Various of masks distribution in Brazil
5. Various of people using gel alchool in Brazil
6. Various of tests in Brazil
7. Various of Christ the Redeemer from the air
8. Various of beaches of Rio de Janiero
9. Various of people on Rio's beaches
10. Various of research on the new variant of coronavirus at the Brazilian Foundation Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz)
11. Various of scientists work

STORYLINE:


A new variant of the coronavirus that emerged in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon has reignited the international alert. Scientists are now striving to unravel the mysteries of this variant that has already been identified in eight countries and that it may be more infectious, although little is still known about it.

There are indications that the one baptized as P.1 is one of the factors behind the explosion of COVID-19 cases in Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, where health services have been completely overwhelmed.

With a higher number of mutations, it is also studied whether the Brazilian is more dangerous than the variants found in the United Kingdom and South Africa, which are the three that most concern the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the midst of this worrying finding, the pandemic is hitting all of Brazil once again, which already accumulates 222,666 deaths and 9.1 million cases, according to official data.

The first alarm was raised by the Japanese authorities on January 9, after analyzing the samples of four passengers who arrived a week earlier in Tokyo after traveling for a season through the Amazon.

A preliminary investigation by the Brazilian Foundation Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), a leading medical research center in Latin America, indicated that this new variant is a “recent phenomenon”.

It was probably developed in December and evolved from variants that were in circulation in the Amazon.

According to Fiocruz, the Manaus variant accumulated in a short space of time “a number of unusual genetic alterations”, several of them in the “spike” protein, which the new coronavirus uses to enter human cells.

Twelve mutations have been identified only in that “spike” protein of the Brazilian variant, three of them are of particular concern: K417N, E484K, N501Y.

These three sets of letters and numbers represent amino acids of the "spike", whose mutation is associated with a greater power of transmissibility. They would help the virus to replicate more and better assemble with the cell's entry receptor.

At the moment, it is unknown if this new variant produces more serious pictures of the disease.

The Brazilian did not emerge from the British or the South African.

All three evolved independently and arose sporadically in all three countries, although some of the mutations identified in the spike protein have been found to be the same.

Scientists believe that the Brazilian could be the most "dangerous", at least due to the number of mutations identified in the "spike" protein: 12 compared to the 8 found in the British or 10 in the South African.

The samples analyzed in December by Fiocruz detected P.1 in 51% of the cases in Manaus. That percentage has soared to 91% in January, indicating that it is spreading fast and has become the predominant lineage in the Amazon.

All this, together with the new variant and the scarce hospital infrastructure of Amazonas, has caused the collapse of its health system and an oxygen shortage for critically ill patients that could have caused more deaths.

According to the experts consulted, if this new variant is established throughout the territory, which may already be happening, it is possible that it will worsen the delicate health situation of the country.

Former Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who was dismissed in the middle of the pandemic by President Jair Bolsonaro for defending isolation, warned in an interview on local television that the new variant could cause a "mega-epidemic" in 60 days, if not action is taken.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cases of this new lineage have already been identified in seven other countries in addition to Brazil: Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, South Korea and Ireland.

Some of these nations and others, such as Portugal, Peru, Turkey or Colombia, have suspended flights from Brazil due to fear of P.1.