U.K. variant of coronavirus found in Utah man; officials expect to find more

The new, more easily transmitted strain of the COVID-19 virus, known as B.1.1.7 or the U.K. variant, has been detected in Utah, according to a news release from the Utah Department of Health. The sole detection was in a man between the ages of 25 and 44 who had no travel outside of Utah. His symptoms were mild, the release said.

The U.K. variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease responsible for the current pandemic has been found to spread more quickly and easily than other mutations. There is no evidence it is any more deadly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The variant was first detected in the U.S. in Colorado.

“This is a hard time to have a more contagious strain, given that it's winter, people are inside more,” said Utah Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn. “The holiday season just passed, and the people are frankly fatigued with all the public health recommendations we're making. So that, in combination with not enough vaccines to go around, is concerning.”

Dr. Kelly Oakeson, chief scientist for bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing at the Utah Public Health Laboratory, explained that the case was discovered through a genetic profile test of a positive case. He said there are 17 mutations distinct to the U.K. variant, which they found during the test that led to the confirmation. Both he and Dunn said they believed that the variant has been in Utah for some time and there are likely more cases.