New Covid Variant Mu to be Monitored for Vaccine Resistance

New Covid-19 strain 'Mu' that was found to be a variant of interest (VOI) for vaccine resistance is being monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mu, also known as B.1.621, was first identified from Colombia in January this year. Infections from Mu have since been recorded in South America and Europe. Based on the latest round of assessments, B.1.621 was classified as a VOI on 30 August 2021 and given the WHO label "Mu".

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‘There are four coronavirus variants that are of great concern - the Alpha variant seen in 193 countries, the Beta variant seen in 141 countries, the Gamma variant seen in 91 countries and the Delta variant seen in 170 countries.’

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Mu variant has various mutations which indicate that it could be more resistant to vaccines, similar to Beta variant, the WHO said in its weekly epidemiological update on Tuesday.

"The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape. Preliminary data presented to the Virus Evolution Working Group show a reduction in neutralization capacity of convalescent and vaccine sera similar to that seen for the Beta variant, but this needs to be confirmed by further studies," the UN health agency said.

As of August 29, over 4,500 sequences (3,794 sequences of B.1.621 and 856 sequences of B.1.621.1) have been uploaded to open-access database GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data) from 39 countries.

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While the global prevalence of the Mu variant among sequenced cases has declined and is currently below 0.1 percent, the prevalence in Colombia (39 percent) and Ecuador (13 percent) has consistently increased, the WHO said.

"The epidemiology of the Mu variant in South America, particularly with the co-circulation of the Delta variant, will be monitored for changes," the health agency added.

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There are four coronavirus variants of concern, as deemed by the WHO, with the Alpha variant -- first recorded in Kent, England -- seen in 193 countries, Beta in 141, Gamma in 91 and Delta in 170 countries, while Mu is the fifth variant of interest.

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Source-IANS