SOM's Precision Medicine Lab Confirms First Delta Variant Case in Area
Leslie Capo, Director of Information Services
The Precision Medicine Lab at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine identified
the first Delta variant COVID case in Region 1 of Louisiana, which includes the New
Orleans metropolitan area, in late June, 2021. In partnership with Ochsner Medical
Center, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) and BioInfoExperts (BIE), LSU Health's
Precision Medicine Lab, a joint operation of the Department of Genetics led by Drs.
Lucio Miele and Judy Crabtree, and the Department of Pathology led by Drs. Gordon
Love and Grace Athas, is sequencing samples provided by Ochsner investigators led
by Dr. Amy Feehan and LDH to identify variants circulating in Louisiana. Bioinformatic
identification of variants is performed by Louisiana-based BioInfoExperts, led by
CEO Dr. Susanna Lamers.
About a dozen cases from the Delta variant were identified statewide by late June, with many more presumptive cases. The CDC estimated at that time that this variant was responsible for about 25% of cases in Region 6, which includes Louisiana.
The Delta variant was named as a Variant of Concern by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) The CDC defines a variant of concern as a variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (e.g., increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.
A recent study reported that the effectiveness of both doses of the Pfizer vaccine in preventing symptomatic disease caused by the Delta variant was 88%. One dose was 33% effective.
“Although we suspected that the variant has been circulating in our area for some time now, having confirmation should encourage people to get vaccinated as soon as possible so they can be fully protected,” notes Dr. Miele.
LSU Health New Orleans, along with its partners, administers the Pfizer vaccine. Hours
for the LSU Health New Orleans COVID vaccination clinic are posted each week at www.lsuhsc.edu.