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Texas Identifies Fourth Case of COVID-19 Variant

In a recent development, the new strain of the COVID-19 variant has been detected in Texas, marking it as the fourth known case in the United States. The finding was announced by a medical professional on Thursday.

Dr. Scott Wesley Long, working at Houston Methodist Hospital, shared on social media that the hospital had identified the BA.2.86 variant through their ongoing effort of comprehensive COVID-19 genome sequencing. The variant was identified in a patient who was symptomatic.

Despite being a new variant, BA.2.86 does not exhibit any distinguishable differences in symptoms compared to other strains, according to Long. In Houston, the dominant strains still remain XBB and its sublineages, as reported by the medical professional.

Long emphasized the importance of vaccination as the primary defense against COVID-19 and assured that all variants would continue to be closely monitored. He also stressed the significance of staying at home for anyone displaying symptoms of the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explain on their COVID Data Tracker how genome surveillance is employed to identify and track SARS-CoV-2 variants. The genetic sequences of the virus are analyzed and classified to determine lineage. Variants can either emerge and disappear or emerge and replace previous strains, as described by the CDC.

As efforts to combat the virus continue, the CDC advises individuals to visit their website, covid.cdc.gov, for further information on coronavirus.