A new version of it Covid-19 was first discovered in a patient who returned to France from Cameroon. The researchers said it was too early to assess the characteristics of the variant, according to RT.
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 study published online on medRxiv last week.
The strain is related to genealogy B.1.640, which was classified as a variant monitored (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 developed mild respiratory symptoms the day before diagnosis.
Genome analysis revealed that the virus of this particular strain has 46 mutations, the researcher said. "It is too early to speculate on the 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 variants of SARS-CoV-2 and their importation from abroad, and are an example of the difficulty of controlling this importation and the subsequent spread."
Scientists around the world have been alerted to new mutations in the coronavirus because they could produce variants that are more contagious and resistant to vaccines.
The emergence of the Omicron variant, classified as a variant of concern (VOC) by the WHO in November, prompted many countries to close their borders and tighten other pandemic-related restrictions.
"As this pandemic continues, new variants are likely to evade our countermeasures and become fully resistant to current vaccines or older infections, requiring vaccine adjustments," WHO Director-General Adanom Gebresmenous warned on Tuesday.