Covid-19: the Mu variant followed very closely by the WHO

Coronavirus manipulations in a laboratory (illustrative image).

Photo: Seyllou / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, these are the variants of the coronavirus considered of concern by the WHO and to which it may be necessary to add the Mu variant.

Appeared in Central America at the beginning of the year, it is now considered "of interest" by the World Health Organization, which is therefore following it very closely.

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A variant considered to be of interest by the WHO does not mean that it will necessarily become worrying later, only that it requires enhanced vigilance, in particular to determine its characteristics more precisely.

In this case, the Mu variant is still very mysterious.

Detected for the first time last January in Colombia, it now represents 40% of cases.

Its presence has also been noted in around 40 countries, but more sporadically.

Globally, it only represents one positive case per 1,000.

Still a lot of questions around Mu

Apart from his rapid progress in Central America, Mu remains very obscure.

Some studies indicate a transmissibility similar to that of the Alpha variant, therefore less than that of Delta today the majority on the planet.

Its resistance would be comparable to that of Beta, formerly called the South African variant, that is to say that the vaccination would always remain effective in preventing serious forms.

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 To read also: Covid-19 in South Africa: a new variant arouses the interest of researchers

However, there is still a lot of conditionality and several additional studies will be necessary to know exactly what to expect.

It had taken several months after the emergence of the Delta variant to determine precisely what it was capable of.

Work to be carried out once again with B.1.621, the scientific name of this Mu variant.

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• Coronavirus

• Vaccines