More-contagious COVID variant concentrated in South Florida but widespread, data shows

An emerging and more-contagious version of the COVID virus is circulating in 19 Florida counties, spanning the Panhandle to South Florida, new data indicates, and Miami-Dade and Broward counties had the highest number of known cases.

The Florida Department of Health says it is now examining about 200 samples of the COVID virus on average every week to look for mutations in the virus, roughly quadrupling the pace it had set during the course of the pandemic, according to information the agency provided to the Miami Herald on Wednesday.

Florida health officials first announced on New Year’s Day that a man with no travel history had acquired the U.K. strain, or B.1.1.7, in Martin County. Researchers have examined about 500 samples of the virus starting in late December from patients throughout the state and found 92 cases of the strain, which is thought to be significantly more contagious and slightly deadlier than the initial version of the virus.

What’s most concerning is the pace at which officials are discovering the virus, an indication of how quickly it is likely spreading, said Marco Salemi, a University of Florida professor and molecular biologist who has been studying the spread of infectious diseases for 30 years.

“It’s quite disturbing, actually,” Salemi said. “I didn’t think the situation was this one — 20% of 500 samples collected in basically the last 30 days? It worries me.”

The fact that a more contagious version of the virus is so well established in Florida heightens the urgency of the campaign to vaccinate the public, Salemi said.

“You have to think in terms of a race here. The virus is racing to infect more and more people, and we are racing to make potential targets of the virus more and more resistant,” Salemi said. “Right now, the virus is outpacing us.”

Bill Hanage, an infectious disease expert at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said the update from health officials was “really worrying,” though he added that there could be some bias in sampling.

For example, Hanage said, the health department could be skewing its findings by choosing to test samples they already think are likely to contain the mutation.

“However, even if that is the case, the fact it is so widespread in terms of counties indicates it is well established,” Hanage said.

The 92 cases of the U.K. strain were identified in 19 different counties. South Florida represented the bulk of cases: Broward with 28, Miami-Dade with 23 and Palm Beach with 9. Officials discovered seven cases in Hillsborough, six in Seminole, and four in Pinellas counties. They discovered two cases in Lee and Osceola counties, and one case in Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, Escambia, Hendry, Martin, Pasco, Polk, Sumter, Suwannee and Volusia.

A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health said the agency is a “national leader” in monitoring the virus for mutations, using genetic sequencing to determine changes in the virus.

“By leading in sequencing, the department is actively looking for the variant in Florida, which is why more cases are being discovered in Florida,” the spokesperson said.

Florida researchers are joining forces

Salemi, the University of Florida professor, said the new numbers indicate the virus is circulating widely. He and researchers at other Florida universities are working together to bolster the state’s surveillance efforts, Salemi said, which will give a more accurate picture of which strains are moving through the state and how frequently.

“It’s paramount,” Salemi said. “It’s even more important than it was yesterday that larger-scale genomic tracking should take place.”

They hope their efforts will help them better understand the implications of mutations for contagiousness, vaccines and other facets of the pandemic. Salemi said he’s now coordinating with other scientists at the University of Miami and the University of Central Florida.

In Miami-Dade, Dr. David Andrews of UM is working the public hospital, Jackson Health, to identify mutated strains of the virus in patients there.

Together with Andrews and other researchers, Salemi estimated the universities could examine 600 to 700 samples per week, far outpacing the state health department, which has only been able to examine about 500 samples in more than a month. The health department anticipates it will track 200 per week going forward.

“The system is in place,” Salemi said. “We have the equipment. We have the infrastructure. We have the personnel, access to samples. The limiting factor is money because we’re talking about a substantial investment here.”

To seek out funding for the expensive scientific analysis, Salemi said he’s been contacting the National Institute for Health and other organizations. President Joe Biden declared genomic sequencing to be a priority for pandemic funding about a week before his inauguration.

Salemi said there’s still much researchers don’t understand about the U.K. strain. Preliminary estimates out of England have shown it to be significantly more contagious. One study from Britain’s national scientists suggested the new strain is slightly deadlier than the original, but the overall risk of death with both versions is still similar.

There are also other known variants of the virus, including one from South Africa and one from Brazil, which have mutations thought to potentially have implications for the potency of the current COVID vaccines, though they are still deemed by manufacturers to be protective, based on early studies.