A new COVID variant, which has been tentatively classified as B.1.640.2, was recently discovered by the IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, France.
At this point, it feels like the world is running down the alphabets from the number of COVID variants that have been rearing their heads. Pressing ‘F’ for respect seems more like a satirical joke now with the existence of Florona and the discovery of this new variant in France.
Small Clustered Spreads of the New Variant
Thus far, 12 patients in Southern France have tested positive for this new COVID strain.
Scientists presume that it is Cameroonian in origin, an African country which has low vaccination numbers, which inherently proves the importance of global vaccine equality.
This new variant seems to have 46 new spike protein mutations and 37 deletions compared to its sibling variants.
Health authorities regret its late discovery, since it had gone unnoticed at first due to the Delta Variant occupying majority of the COVID-19 cases in France and Europe.
As early as Oct 2021, the French Newspaper Le Télégramme reported that a new variant had been found in the town of Bannalec, Finistère, though that small cluster had been brought under control. There were 24 people infected, 18 of which were children.
The 12 COVID-19 patients of this new variant were found in Forcalquier, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in Dec 2021.
A handful of cases, too, have been discovered in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Scotland, and Italy.
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What Little is Known
Owing to the newness of the variant, it is uncertain if it is as lethal as the other variants, and what possible effects it might have on the human body.
Further studies conducted by the IHU Méditerranée Infection have shown that the new variant contains the N501Y mutation – that is present in the Gamma and Beta variant – which makes it more infectious, and the E484K mutation that aids the virus in evading the immunity system.
Compared to the Delta variant, however, B.1.640.2 looks nothing like the viral and dangerous Delta variant and more akin to an “atypical combination”.
More studies are still being conducted to fully understand this new variant. Also, do note that this variant has not been classified as a variant of concern, so it might just fade away.
To know more about why virus mutate, watch this to the end:
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Featured Image: Andrii Vodolazhskyi / Shutterstock.com
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