(FNA)- As the world grapples with the highly mutated Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, scientists identified a new strain of the COVID-19 causing virus in Southern France.
The new variant of COVID-19 was first discovered in a patient who returned to France from Cameroon, as researchers stated it’s too early to assess the variant’s features, RT reported.
The new strain, B.1.640.2, was detected in 12 patients living in the same geographical area in Southeastern France, a team of scientists said in a preprint published online on medRxiv last week.
The strain is related to the B.1.640 lineage, which was classified as a variant under monitoring (VUM) by the World Health Organization (WHO) in November.
The first known patient was a vaccinated adult who returned to a French village from a trip to Cameroon and exhibited mild respiratory symptoms the day before the diagnosis.
Genome analysis revealed that the virus of this particular strain has 46 mutations, the researcher added.
“It is too early to speculate on virological, epidemiological or clinical features of this… variant based on these 12 cases,” they wrote.
“Overall, these observations show once again the unpredictability of the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and their introduction from abroad, and they exemplify the difficulty to control such introduction and subsequent spread,” they stated.
Scientists around the world have been on high alert for new mutations of the coronavirus because they could produce variants that are more contagious and vaccine-resistant.
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