State health officials confirmed today (Monday) a more communicable variant of coronavirus has been found in Iowa. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), three patients with the B.1.1.7 strain, more commonly referred to as the U.K. variant after it was identified in the United Kingdom, have tested positive. Two of the three cases were detected in Johnson County, one adult and one middle-aged adult. The third case was detected in an adult in Bremer County. These infections were confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Strain Surveillance Program at the State Hygienic Lab (SHL). Laboratory staff have been searching for the variant since early December and recently began conducting sequencing internally. State Epidemiologist, Caitlin Pedati, says, “Sometimes new variants emerge and disappear. Other times, new variants emerge and persist. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic. Public health will continue to work with our partners at SHL to monitor these trends and it is very important that we all keep practicing good public health protective measures.” Those measures include mask use, social distancing, good hand hygiene, staying home when ill, and getting the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to you. Vaccines currently being distributed are considered effective against the U.K. strain.
