Coronavirus Variant Detected At University of Texas At Austin

AUSTIN, TX — A case of the coronavirus variant has been detected at the University of Texas at Austin, according to a published report.

University officials issued a memo to those infected by the United Kingdom variant of the virus, KXAN reported. The mutant form of the virus is more adept at infiltrating human cells toward easier transmission from one person to the next, doctors explained to Patch in a previous interview.

The memo shared by the university's health services department was shared on social media by the student-run newspaper The Daily Texan, according to the KXAN report. "Today, we are writing to let you know that the COVID-19 variant known as B.1.1.7 and first discovered in the United Kingdom has been detected through our proactive on-campus testing, monitoring, and sequencing efforts," read part of the memo.

Related story: 1st Coronavirus Variant Identified In Austin-Travis County

The news comes two days after Austin Public Health officials confirmed the presence of the UK variant in Travis County. It's unclear if the two reports of the mutated virus are related.

The variant reported by Austin Public Health was discovered and confirmed through lab testing by a private local testing organization, and subsequently reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services, officials said on Wednesday. The "UK" descriptor to the variant name is used to distinguish it from other mutated forms of the virus detected in South Africa and Brazil.

In a related development, the student newspaper reported that UT-Austin was allowing students to study abroad during the spring semester, despite continued travel advisories prompted by the pandemic.

Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said the emergence of a variant form of the virus was not unexpected given its recent emergence in Houston. "While it is concerning that there is a confirmed COVID-19 variant in Austin-Travis County, it does not come as a surprise," she said.

In a previous Q&A session on the coronavirus response countywide — sessions that are staged weekly with local media outlets — health district officials theorized a mutant form of the virus was likely already in the region given a recent case emerging in Houston. A variant form of the virus does not produce a more potent illness but is especially adept at entering cells to thrive within a person's body thus yielding easier transmission from one person to another, doctors explained to Patch in a recent interview.

"It is important to remember that these COVID-19 variants spread the same way, and so it is important to continue the prevention measures we have been using for almost a year," Hayden said. "People need to keep wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding gatherings, and washing your hands frequently."

Patch recently interviewed Anthony Harris and Brittany Busse, both medical directors at WorkCare — a national health care firm advising companies in Texas and internationally during the Covid-19 pandemic — who said the new UK COVID-19 variant will soon ramp up transmission of the virus in Texas. The prediction is in line with reports from the Baylor College of Medicine warning of bolstered transmissions blamed on mutated forms of the virus.

"Mutations are very common in viruses, and they happen very quickly," Busse told Patch. "Even bacteria cannot mutate as quickly." The variant essentially will "...go around in this little package looking for a cell to adapt and acquire to deposit more virus cells. They will adapt very quickly. This virus is very capable of infiltrating into all kinds of cells," she said, naming nerve cells and those in the respiratory systems as key examples. "It's very capable of infiltrating, making it more 'sticky' and better at moving from person to person."

However, Busse said the threat of reinfection among people who have already contracted the illness is slim. To date, there have been less than 100 known cases of reinfection from a variant from among 100 million known cases, she said.

Harris concurred, saying he worries about illness hot spots such as Texas — second only to California in the number of cumulative coronavirus cases — where hospital beds already are in dwindling supply. But he suggested taking some solace in knowing the variant form of the virus won't necessarily produce more severe illness. "The ability to enter the cells is what the mutation produces," he said. "It makes it more transmissible."

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.

>>> Read the full report at KXAN