IOWA - The CDC is reporting five new cases of the UK strain of COVID-19 in Iowa.
The state originally reported three case on February first, but those numbers were updated by the CDC Thursday night.
The UK variant is more contagious than the original COVID-19 strain.
The CDC has said it may bring an increased risk of death, although more studies are needed.
Two other strains first discovered in Brazil and South Africa have not been reported in Iowa.
Neighboring Minnesota has reported one case of the Brazil strain, while bordering Nebraska and South Dakota have none of the three additional variants.
A UK scientist said Thursday that the UK strain could "sweep the world". Florida has, by far, the most cases of the UK strains according to the CDC -347.
California reported has its first two cases of the South African variant, which is thought to be more resistant to existing vaccines.