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Published Thursday, January 28, 2021
Scientists detect new covid-19
mutation in Costa Rica
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Last December, scientists from the Faculty of Microbiology of the University of Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Research Institute detected a variant, or mutation, of covid-19 in the country.
The mutation was named T1117I and is located in the corona part of the virus. This mutation does not make the virus more lethal, contagious or aggressive, specialists said.
According to the study, in December 2020, the mutation registered a presence of 14.5% in the 138 cases studied. However, in January the presence of this mutation increased to 29.2%. "This data exceeds by far the international frequency that does not even reach 1% in the detection of this mutation," the specialists said in its statement.
In other countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh, the same type of mutation has already been detected. However, as of January 26, the three nations have accounted for fewer than two cases, according to GISAID, a global science initiative and primary source established in 2008 that provides open-access to genomic data of influenza viruses and the responsible coronavirus for the covid-19 pandemic.
The other two countries that have also reported the same mutation are Chile and South Africa, but with fewer than two cases. The reason could be that few countries have made the existence of the mutation public.
According to the most recent report from the Ministry of Health, on Wednesday, the infections of covid-19 continue to rise in the country.
• 721 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 38,740 current active cases.
• 23,813 foreign-born people have been infected, totaling 192,066 cases since March, approximately 12.4% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients. But since October, there is no updated information about foreign-born deaths due to covid-19.
• 466 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 185 patients are in ICU’s in delicate health conditions. Their ages range from 1 to 92-years-old. And 281 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 150,748 patients have fully recovered, a 78.5% recovery rate of the total cases since March.
• 577,889 covid-19 tests have been conducted in Costa Rica since March, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.
• 2,584 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.3% death rate. Of these 974 are women and 1,610 men. The ages range from a 2-year-old to a 101-year-old.
Readers can see the current number of infected people in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed more than 2.1 million people worldwide.
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What have you heard about covid-19 mutations detected in your country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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