São Paulo health department confirms 8 cases of Delta variant in city

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Municipal Health Secretariat of São Paulo confirmed today (20) that the capital has already seen eight cases of the delta variant of the new coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in India. Last week, City Hall had already confirmed that the city was facing municipal transmission of the Delta variant.

The first autochthonous case (transmission within the community) of variant Delta in São Paulo was confirmed on July 6. It involved a 45-year-old man with no travel history who presented with mild symptoms of Covid-19 without requiring hospitalization. Until then, only one imported case had been identified in São Paulo, from a resident of Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, who landed at Guarulhos Airport coming from India.

The occurrence of mutations, according to the Secretariat, is a natural and expected event within the evolutionary process of the virus. Since the first genomic characterization of SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19, the virus has split into different genetic groups. Some of these mutations may confer biological advantages that facilitate viral spread or even cause more severe cases.

Currently, four variants are classified by public health authorities as “variants of concern” because of the possibility of increased transmissibility or severity of infection. These are: Gamma (P.1), Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), and Delta (B.1.617.2). Delta is a variant of global concern, causing an increase in cases in several countries, including Europe.

In addition to this first identified case of community transmission, four others were reported in the eastern zone and two in the northern zone of the city. An eighth case was found in a patient in a private clinic. All of these patients diagnosed with the Delta variant are doing well, according to City Hall.

Since May, São Paulo City Hall has intensified studies to monitor the emergence of new variants in the city.

Yesterday (19), the federal Ministry of Health confirmed 110 cases of variant delta nationwide. Of these, five cases have progressed to a serious condition.

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