By Heart of Illinois ABC

PEKIN – Reditus Laboratories announced over the weekend it has detected four COVID-19 variants in 321 randomly selected positive tests that were collected between March 1 and March 30.

There were 124 samples that detected the United Kingdom variant.

The Brazil variant, the most “concerning” of all that were identified, was detected in 16 samples from the central Illinois region, including Peoria, Pekin, Morton and Bloomington, according to a press release by Reditus.

“The (Brazil variant) is believed to be the most concerning of all identified variants due to resistance of vaccines, potentially increased pathogenicity, and increased levels of transmissibility than the original strain,” according to the release.

Fourteen other samples detected the Santa Clara variant and two were the South African variant.

Reditus CEO Dr. Aaron Rossi says the samples are being sequenced to help Illinois Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collect information for which variants are becoming more prevalent within our community and the country. The variants spread more easily and quickly in a population than the original strain of the virus.

“The variants are becoming much more prominent,” Rossi said. “This is causing growing concern of experts and we need to identify the variants and make sure the public is aware.”

Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected].