The WHO has added a virus variant from Colombia to its list of Corona variants “of interest”. There are indications that vaccination against the variant Mu may be less effective.
Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified a new variant of the coronavirus as a “variant of interest”. It is the variant Mu, which was first identified in Colombia in January, as the WHO wrote in its weekly Corona report.
There are indications that the antibodies in convalescent or vaccinated persons may be even less effective against the Mu variant than against other virus variants. But further studies are necessary for this.
In total, there are five “variants of interest” that are being followed with particular attention. There are also four “worrying variants”, including the Delta variant, which is now also widely used in Europe.
The proportion of the Mu variant is still extremely low
The mu variant has been detected in some countries in South America and Europe, writes the WHO. Genetic studies of the virus are available from 39 countries. According to current estimates, the share of the variant worldwide is only 0.1 percent. In Colombia, however, it is 38 percent and in Ecuador 13 percent, and the proportion is growing. However, the WHO refers to the different capacities of countries to examine viruses genetically. dpa
