The WHO said on Wednesday that it is monitoring a new variant of the coronavirus called "Mu" (the scientific name is B.1.621), and this variant strain may be resistant to the vaccine.
The WHO has currently identified four main variants of the COVID-19 virus and is monitoring five related variants including Mu virus.
WHO warns: COVID-19 new variant "MU" or vaccine resistant WHO warns: COVID-19 new variant "MU" or vaccine resistant Regarding virus naming rules, WHO stated that they are all adopted It is named after the Greek alphabet and is no longer named after the place where it was first discovered.
The WHO said in its weekly COVID-19 disease report released late Tuesday that the variant contains a new set of infectious sequences, and current vaccines or monoclonal antibody treatments may not work against it. Preliminary data show that the disease strain is similar to the Beta virus first discovered in South Africa. As to whether the infectiousness and lethality of the diseased strain are higher, further research is needed.
In July, the Mu virus became the target of detection by the WHO. Although it did not cause as much attention and warning globally as the Delta virus, the WHO report stated that the mutation of the variant indicated that it May develop resistance to vaccines.
People are worried that the emergence of the Mu virus will cause the global infection rate to rise again and delay the recovery of the global economy when the Delta virus is raging around the world and has not yet improved.
The WHO issued a "Mu virus risk assessment report" in August. The report stated that Mu virus, like the Beta variant virus, is resistant to vaccines, but the degree of risk still requires laboratory and case information. More evidence. There is currently no evidence that Mu variant virus is more infectious than Delta virus, but its resistance to vaccines may change the assessment results.
The Mu strain was first discovered in Colombia in January 2021. Since then, other South American countries and Europe have also reported the virus. At present, the incidence of the virus in Colombia and Ecuador is 39% and 13%, but from a global perspective, the infection rate does not exceed 0.1%.
At present, at least 32 cases of Mu virus variants have been found in the United Kingdom, and the infection pattern indicates that it was introduced by travelers. According to a report from the Department of Public Health of the United Kingdom (PHE) in July, most cases are concentrated in London and people around the age of 20. Some of those infected with Mu virus have been vaccinated with one or two shots of COVID-19. vaccine.
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