January 5, 2022
(Business Insider-India)
New COVID-19 variant named ‘IHU’ discovered in France — said to be stronger than Omicron
Scientists and experts in France have reportedly identified a new variant of COVID-19 termed ‘IHU’. The new variant is said to be a more mutated strain than Omicron. Nearly 12 cases of this new variant have been reported near Marseilles and has been linked to the African country Cameroon.
The B.1.640.2 or IHU variant was first identified by the academics at institute IHU Mediterranee Infection and contains 46 mutations, which is more than Omicron, and 36 deletions.
The mutation has yet to be peer-reviewed.
New COVID-19 variants have cropped up repeatedly over the past year which have changed how the virus has spread as well as its lethality. However, only a few newly discovered variants are eventually found to be more dangerous, either with a higher mortality rate or being more transmissible.
Whether this new possible variant is just as bad will only be determined as experts gain further understanding of how it works.