By WBTV Web Staff | February 6, 2021 at 1:39 PM EST – Updated February 6 at 4:33 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTV) – The first case of the Denmark “Cluster Five” variant of COVID-19 has been identified in North Carolina, MAKO Medical Laboratories said in a press release.
According to the World Health Organization, the variants have been traced back to Danish farmed minks.
The lab has also found five cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in North Carolina since it was first identified in Mecklenburg County Jan. 23.
“As we continue our sequencing of indicated samples, we have found a continued rise in variant occurrences,” said Steve Hoover, vice president of laboratory operations at MAKO Medical. “Over the past week, indicated samples are now returning positive variant cases at a 50% rate, up from a 25% rate last week. The information we are collecting is shared directly with state health officials to assist in understanding the presence of the variants in communities across the country.”
South Carolina does not have any MAKO-identified cases of the Cluster Five variants, but they do have one B 1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants.
The only other state found with Cluster Five variants identified by the lab is Colorado, which has recorded three cases.
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