WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

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FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls on its members in Europe to "strengthen their controls" because of the new variant of the coronavirus circulating in the United Kingdom, its European branch said on Sunday.

Outside British territory, a handful of cases have been reported in Denmark (9), as well as a case in the Netherlands and Australia according to the WHO, which recommends that its members at the global level "increase their ( de) sequencing ”of the virus before knowing more about the risks posed by the variant, said a spokeswoman.

Several European countries decided Sunday to suspend all flights from the United Kingdom after the discovery of this new variant "out of control".

According to the WHO, in addition to “preliminary signs that the variant could be more contagious”, the variant “could also affect the effectiveness of certain diagnostic methods”, again according to “preliminary information”.

South Africa also concerned

There is however "no evidence of a change in the severity of the disease", although this point is also being researched.

WHO will give more information as soon as it has "a clearer vision of the characteristics of this variant," said a spokesperson for WHO Europe.

"Across Europe, where transmission is high and widespread, countries must strengthen their control and prevention procedures," said the UN organization.

At the global level, the WHO recommends "to all countries to increase their sequencing capacities for the Sars-Cov-2 virus when possible and to share data at the international level, especially if the same problematic mutations are identified" .

In addition to the three countries that spotted the strain from the UK on their soil, "several other countries have reported to the WHO other variants which carry some of the genetic changes of the UK variant", including a so-called 'N501Y' mutation. .

South Africa, which also reported a problematic variant on Friday, considers this "N501Y" mutation to be the cause of more contagions.

The country "is conducting additional research to better understand the link," said the WHO.

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