Most of the Hawaiian cases from Brazil are found in the Maui province

Doctors at the Waikiki Heather Hawks Experimental Laboratory at Kahului Airport on May 4 revealed results of a rapid test for the COVID-19 antigen. The province introduced the program in hopes of limiting the number of cases raised during the trip. On Monday, 61,848 passengers were tested on arrival, with 25 positive antigen test results, two of which were positive during the confirmatory test. Maui News / KEHAULANI CERIZO PHOTOS

Maui County, which recently fought more individual cases of the COVID-19 variant than any other island, is now experiencing the highest rate of difference detected in Brazil, where health officials claim they are more resistant to infections and antibodies.

The B1 variant was found in 36 samples in the state, 22 in Maui County and 13 in Oahu, according to a report released Wednesday by the state laboratory of the state health department. None of them are found in areas of Kauai or Hawaii.

State epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kimble said at a press conference Wednesday that the B1 variant was “interest.”

“It’s hugely prevalent and requires more antibody neutralization to overcome it, so you’ll be more concerned with being able (again) to restart, even if you already have some strains of COVID.” This is Kemble.

Earlier this month, Maui District Health Officer Dr. Mark Nishimoto said the Brazilian variant was replacing the California variant, which controlled Maui cases a month ago.

Chelsea Vincent Kahuloy, a lab technician who works with doctors at Waikiki, was working at the airport when the county on May 4 unveiled its post-arrival testing program. The municipality of Maui is now seeing most cases of the P1 variant that was first detected in Brazil. The state Department of Health released a report Wednesday that found the B1 variant in 36 samples in the state, 22 in May County, 13 in Oahu and none in Kauai or Hawaii counties.

The California variant is 20 percent more contagious than the original COVID-19 virus, while the strain comes from Brazil “More of a California variable, contagious.”

Health Department officials said on Wednesday that the total number of COVID-19 cases in Hawaii is higher than ever, and that percentage continues to rise. The authorities insisted on vaccination to prevent the spread of the virus.

The Ministry of Health report said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies variables of concern because their characteristics include increased prevalence, reduced neutralization of antibodies that were produced during a previous infection or vaccination, and disease severity.

Dr. Edward Desmond, director of the Division of State Laboratories, said that more than 90 percent of the variables of anxiety are now classified in his lab.

Since June last year, the unit has been collecting samples from across the state and conducting genetic sequencing to look for the COVID-19 strains.

“We discovered our first strains in January, and within four months, they had converted the original COVID-19 strain into a modified COVID.” Desmond said in a press release.

In Hawaii, variant B.1.429 California was found with a total of 631 cases, followed by variant B.1.1.7 with 304 cases first detected in the United Kingdom, variant B.1.427 California with 40 cases, variant B1 was detected for the first time In Brazil, with 36 cases, and variant B.1351 with 12 cases, in South Africa.

Maui County found 242 cases of variant B.1.429 from California, 22 cases from Brazil, 14 cases from the United Kingdom, and three cases of variant B.1.427 from California.

Ohu P1.429 recorded 261 cases in the California variant, 201 cases in the UK, 23 cases in the California P1.427 variant, 13 cases in Brazil and 11 cases in South Africa.

Hawaii has 29 cases each from the UK and P.1429 variants from California, plus two cases of the P1.427 variant from California.

In Kauai County, the California variant P1.429 was detected in 25 cases, the UK variant was detected in three cases and the California variant P1.427 in two cases.

The most common form has changed in recent months. In March and early April, the California variant P4.429 took over, which was detected 631 times in the state by sample.

But since late April, the UK P1.1.7 variant has dominated Hawaii, accounting for 61 percent of changes in circulation on the islands, and has been detected in 304 cases, the Department of Health said.

During the press conference, Kimble said that the surrogate in the UK is more contagious than the one in California and that a person could be hospitalized with a serious illness if not vaccinated. This difference is not known to exclude the vaccine-induced antibodies.

Health officials blamed the increase in cases and settlements in Mayo County in the winter and early spring, when an explosion at the Mayo Community Correctional Center in February infected two employees and more than 90 inmates who tested positive for the virus. -April.

This is the situation in Maui County, Kimble said It shows that there was a social event that first spread to B.1.429 and then obtained B.1.1.7, so these new varieties might have been imported from here on the continent, since they are in the community, you can see how these differences can spread quickly. “

“For several months, between January and March, we struggled to keep up with the high case rates in Maui, which are finally starting to decline, which is really encouraging.” This is Kemble. “But it does illustrate some of the difficulties of trying to break the switch of disparity.”

* Melissa Tangi can be reached on the website [email protected]