More mutations than omicron
\nSo far 12 people have been found infected with the new ihu variant
\n LONDON
\nFrench scientists have identified a new COVID-19 variant with 46 mutations \u2014 more than even the highly infectious omicron variant.
\nSo far, 12 people in southeastern France are known to have been infected by the variant, named ihu or variant B.1.640.2.
\nThe first case was linked to a person with a travel history to Cameroon, researchers said in a paper published on medRxiv. The person was fully vaccinated.
\nIn their analysis, the authors found \u201c46 mutations\u201d which had not been spotted in other countries, nor labeled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization.
\nThe authors of the paper said \u201csubsequent detection … of three mutations in the spike gene to screen for variants … did not correspond to the pattern of the delta variant involved in almost all SARS-CoV-2 infections at that time.\u201d
\nWhile the variant has more mutations than omicron, scientists were quick to point out that this does not necessarily indicate that it is as or more infectious.
\nScores of variants are being monitored at any one time by scientists worldwide, and most do not become \u201cvariants of concern,\u201d Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, wrote on Twitter.
\n\u201cThere are scores of new variants discovered all the time, but it does not necessarily mean they will be more dangerous,\u201d he said, adding that the highly infectious omicron variant could prove so virulent that it leaves no space for others to take over.
\n\u201cWhat makes a variant more well-known and dangerous is its ability to multiply because of the number of mutations it has in relation to the original virus.\u201d
\nFeigl-Ding continued: \u201cThis is when it becomes a \u2018variant of concern\u2019 \u2014 like omicron, which is more contagious and more past immunity evasive. It remains to be seen in which category this new variant will fall.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More mutations than omicron So far 12 people have been found infected with the new ihu variant LONDON French scientists have identified a new COVID-19 variant with 46 mutations \u2014 more than even the highly infectious omicron variant. So far, 12 people in southeastern France are known to have been infected by the variant, named […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[388,601,952],"class_list":{"0":"post-236869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-covid","9":"tag-france","10":"tag-variant"},"yoast_head":"\n