sars-cov-2 epsilon variant sars-cov-2 epsilon variant epsilon variant, also known as cal.20c and referring to two pango lineages b.1.427 and b.1.429, is one of the variants of sars-cov-2, the virus that causes covid-19. it was first detected in california, usa in july 2020. countries with confirmed cases of epsilon variant as of 1 july 2021 (gisaid) legend: 10,000+ confirmed sequences 1,000–9,999 confirmed sequences 100–999 confirmed sequences 10–99 confirmed sequences 2–9 confirmed sequences 1 confirmed sequence none or no data available as of march 2022, epsilon is considered as a previously circulating variant of interest by the who. it is considered a variant being monitored by the cdc. mutations the variant has five defining mutations (i4205v and d1183y in the orf1ab gene, and s13i, w152c, l452r in the spike protein's s-gene), of which the l452r (previously also detected in other unrelated lineages) was of particular concern. b.1.429 is possibly more transmissible than previous variants circulating locally, but further study is necessary to confirm this. centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) has listed b.1.429 and the related b.1.427 as "variants of concern", and cites a preprint for saying that they exhibit a ~20% increase in viral transmissibility, that they have a "significant impact on neutralization by some, but not all" therapeutics that have been given emergency use authorization (eua) by the food and drug administration (fda) for treatment or prevention of covid-19, and that they moderately reduce neutralization by plasma collected by people who have previously been infected by the virus or who have received a vaccine against the virus. in may 2021, the world health organization (who) gave the variant the name 'epsilon variant'. amino acid mutations of sars-cov-2 epsilon variant plotted on a genome map of sars-cov-2 with a focus on the spike. part of a series on thecovid-19 pandemicscientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of sars-cov-2. each "ball" is an atom. covid-19 (disease) sars-cov-2 (virus) cases deaths timeline 2019 2020 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2021 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november responses december responses 2022 january responses february responses march responses april responses may responses june responses july responses august responses september responses october responses november december 2023 january february march april may locations by country and territory africa antarctica asia europe north america oceania south america by conveyance cruise ships naval ships international response endemic phase evacuations face masks international aid investigations 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cinema films disney fashion financial markets food industry food security journalism music performing arts retail shipping television us sportscasting programs tourism video games by country canada india ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us by sport association football baseball basketball combat sports cricket disc golf gaelic games gridiron football ice hockey motorsport rugby league impacts animals black people crime death rates by country disability domestic violence emergency evacuations education female environment hospitals language lgbt community long-term care media coverage mental health symptoms migration military notable deaths other health issues politics diplomacy popular culture protests pregnancy prisons religion catholic church hajj science and technology social media strikes suicides telehealth xenophobia and racism society ireland malaysia new zealand russia uk us covid-19 portal history epsilon (cal.20c) was first observed in july 2020 by researchers at the cedars-sinai medical center, california, in one of 1,230 virus samples collected in los angeles county from the start of the covid-19 epidemic. it was not detected again until september when it reappeared among samples in california, but numbers remained very low until november. in november 2020, the epsilon variant accounted for 36 percent of samples collected at cedars-sinai medical center, and by january 2021, the epsilon variant accounted for 50 percent of samples. in a joint press release by university of california, san francisco, california department of public health, and santa clara county public health department, it was announced that the variant was also detected in multiple counties in northern california. from november to december 2020, the frequency of the variant in sequenced cases from northern california rose from 3% to 25%. a preprint describes cal.20c as belonging to nextstrain clade 20c and contributing approximately 36% of samples, while an emerging variant from the 20g clade accounts for some 24% of the samples in a study focused on southern california. however, in the us as a whole, the 20g clade predominated as of january 2021. following the increasing numbers of epsilon in california, the variant has been detected at varying frequencies in most us states. small numbers have been detected in other countries in north america, and in europe, asia and australia. as of july 2021, the epsilon variant had been detected in 45 countries, according to gisaid. after an initial increase, its frequency rapidly decreased from february 2021 as it was being outcompeted by the more transmissible alpha variant. in april, epsilon remained relatively frequent in parts of northern california, but it had virtually disappeared from the south of the state and had never been able to establish itself elsewhere; only 3.2% of all cases in the united states were epsilon, whereas by then more than two-thirds were alpha. statistics cases by country country confirmed cases (gisaid)as of 1 july 2021 last reported case usa 50,723 23 june 2021 mexico 474 8 june 2021 canada 326 7 may 2021 south korea 103 26 april 2021 aruba 57 24 april 2021 denmark 37 22 march 2021 maldives 36 7 may 2021 chile 30 7 june 2021 argentina 28 12 may 2021 united kingdom 21 10 may 2021 japan 20 16 april 2021 australia 20 12 april 2021 costa rica 12 5 may 2021 germany 10 8 june 2021 israel 10 25 february 2021 guam 8 27 march 2021 taiwan 8 31 january 2021 guatemala 7 france 7 1 march 2021 ireland 7 28 april 2021 netherlands 5 10 march 2021 spain 5 3 june 2021 new zealand 4 28 december 2020 singapore 4 27 march 2021 switzerland 4 1 march 2021 cameroon 3 5 february 2021 guadeloupe 3 30 january 2021 norway 3 12 april 2021 cambodia 2 20 january 2021 finland 2 6 february 2021 italy 2 11 february 2021 peru 2 24 february 2021 sweden 2 28 january 2021 turkey 2 11 february 2021 turks and caicos islands 2 22 march 2021 colombia 2 8 january 2021 anguilla 1 19 march 2021 antigua and barbuda 1 24 april 2021 barbados 1 12 april 2021 belgium 1 18 january 2021 british virgin islands 1 7 january 2021 curacao 1 19 march 2021 india 1 2 march 2021 north macedonia 1 26 january 2021 northern mariana islands 1 16 january 2021 sint maarten 1 16 february 2021 dominican republic 1 world (46 countries) total: 51,966 total as of 1 july 2021