Covid-19: WHO monitors “Mu” variants and more-News

The World Health Organization said it is monitoring a new variant of the coronavirus called “Mu”, which was first discovered in Colombia in January.

The global health agency said in its weekly pandemic announcement on Tuesday that Mu, scientifically known as B.1.621, has been classified as a “variant of interest.”

The WHO stated that the mutation of this variant indicates the risk of resistance to the vaccine, and emphasized the need for further research to better understand it.

“The Mu variant has a series of mutations, indicating the potential for immune escape,” the announcement said.

As the global infection rate has risen again, the emergence of new virus mutations has caused widespread concern, and the highly transmitted Delta variants have become popular—especially among unvaccinated people—and in areas where antiviral measures have been relaxed.

All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, will mutate over time, and most mutations have little or no effect on the characteristics of the virus.

But certain mutations can affect the characteristics of the virus, and affect how easily it spreads, the severity of the disease it causes, and its resistance to vaccines, drugs, and other countermeasures.

The WHO has currently identified four worrying variants of Covid-19, including Alpha, which exists in 193 countries, and Delta, which exists in 170 countries.

Five variants including Mu will be monitored.

After being discovered in Colombia, Mu has also been reported in other South American countries and Europe.

The WHO stated that among the sorted cases, its global prevalence has fallen below 0.1%. However, in Colombia, this proportion is 39%.

South Africa discovers new variant of coronavirus

South African scientists have detected a new coronavirus variant with multiple mutations, but have not yet determined whether it is more contagious or whether it can overcome the immunity provided by vaccines or previous infections.

According to research that has not been peer-reviewed, this new variant called C.1.2 was first discovered in May and has now spread to most provinces in South Africa and seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

It contains many mutations associated with other variants. These mutations have increased transmission and reduced sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies, but they occur in different combinations, and scientists are not yet sure how they affect the behavior of the virus.

Laboratory testing is ongoing to determine the extent to which this variant is neutralized by antibodies.

South Africa was the first country to detect the Beta variant, and it is one of only four countries that have been marked as “concerned” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Beta is believed to spread more easily than the original version of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, and there is evidence that the vaccine is less effective for it, causing some countries to restrict travel to and from South Africa.

Infectious disease expert, Richard Lessells, one of the authors of the C.1.2 study, said that its emergence tells us that “this epidemic is far from over. This virus is still being explored and it might be better The way to infect us”.

He said that people should not be overly alarmed at this stage, and mutations with more mutations will inevitably appear in the pandemic.

Genome sequencing data from South Africa showed that the C.1.2 variant was still far from replacing the dominant Delta variant in July, which was the most recent month when a large number of samples were available.

C.1.2 accounted for 3% of the sample in July, and 1% in June, while Delta accounted for 67% in June and 89% in July.

Delta is the fastest and most suitable variant encountered in the world. Even if countries relax restrictions and reopen their economies, it is subverting the assumption of Covid-19.

Lessells stated that, depending on the mutation pattern, C.1.2 may have more immune evasion properties than Delta, and the discovery has been flagged to the WHO.

A spokesperson for the South African Ministry of Health declined to comment on the study.

The Covid-19 vaccination campaign in South Africa has started slowly. So far, only about 14% of the adult population has been fully vaccinated.