MADISON, Wis. – Many health experts agree we’re in a race between getting everyone vaccinated and the spread of coronavirus variants.
The more contagious and potentially dangerous B.1.1.7 variant originating in the UK is becoming the dominant strain in some parts of the country.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Dave O’Connor said it’s “definitely on the rise here in Wisconsin” as health experts keep an eye on the data.
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O’Connor’s lab on campus, along with three others including the State Laboratory of Hygiene, are doing genome testing on coronavirus sample strains.
“The process is kind of like reading a book that has 30,000 letters from each sample,” O’Connor explained.
The testing is done by extracting nucleic acid from coronavirus samples, which contains the virus’s genetic code, to detect specific changes in the genetic sequence.
“It’s like reading a book of As, Ts, Cs and Gs, and putting that all together as a string,” said Dr. Alana Sterkel, the State Lab’s communicable disease division’s assistant director. “That has to be analyzed, compared against libraries, databases, to determine if they’re variants of concern or just another strain.”
The State Lab, along with O’Connor’s, has been doing sequencing since early in the process of COVID-19 testing, which began more than a year ago.
It can identify a coronavirus sample’s origin and if the specific mutations mean the sample is a variant of concern, such as the B.1.1.7 variant.
About 5% of Dane County positive coronavirus samples have been genome tested since the pandemic’s start, O’Connor said, explaining that certain samples of interest will get priority, such as if they come from someone back from international travel or an individual who has been fully vaccinated.
This March, labs sequenced at least 5.8% of samples in Wisconsin, Sterkel said, adding that sequencing can only be performed on certain samples with enough residual virus from molecular tests. The total percentage sequenced can change from week to week depending on how many positive specimens make the cut and are submitted for testing.
“We don’t need to identify every single variant, every single strain to the genomic level in the state, to get a picture of what’s circulating,” Sterkel said.
“Probably north of 10% of all cases statewide are now this B.1.1.7, and in many other states, the frequency is getting into the 30, 40, 50%, and all of the projections suggest that this is going to become a predominant sequence,” O’Connor said. “Soon it’s going to be the most common thing we see.”
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“We have a lot of work to do to get cases down to such a low level that these variants are not going to be a concern,” O’Connor said, urging people to keep up with precautions such as masking and to get a vaccine when possible.
“The good news is that all the vaccines used in the United States seem to work quite well against this UK variant. That’s why it’s so important for people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible,” O’Connor said. “The news isn’t quite so good for the other variants.”
That includes the variants originating in South Africa and Brazil, both of which have been identified in Wisconsin at much lower numbers.
“The good news is, that right now it still seems like those vaccines protect effectively from severe disease … even if you get infected with one of those variants,” O’Connor said
DHS is working with lab partners to expand efforts to sequence coronavirus samples and identify variants. The State Lab is currently doing about 200 to 250 sequences a week, hoping to double that.
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