The new Covid-19 variant, B.1.640, was detected by French researchers and is probably of Cameroonian origin, is not “circulating widely at the moment” and has so far been identified in less than 1 per cent of the samples sequenced in France, the World Health Organization said.
The strain is known as the ‘IHU’ variant because it was first identified by academics at the IHU Mediterranee Infection Institute in Marseille, France, reports Xinhua news agency.
At a press meet on Thursday, Maria van Kerkhove the technical lead for the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said that it was first detected in September 2021 in a number of countries.
The WHO classified it as a “variant under monitoring” (VUM) in November 2021.
According to WHO, a VUM is SARS-CoV-2 variant with genetic changes that are suspected to affect virus characteristics, which may pose a future risk, but evidence of phenotypic or epidemiological impact is currently unclear, thus requiring enhanced monitoring and repeat assessment pending new evidence.
Van Kerkhove explained that since B.1.640 variant has many mutations so the WHO classified it as a VUM is to raise the public’s awareness.
She said that current Covid-19 vaccines do work against all variants that are circulating and are highly effective against preventing severe diseases and death.
Katherine O’Brien, director of the WHO’s Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department, said that B.1.640 is not a variant that is increasing in prevalence but is a small fraction of the strains that are circulating.