The World Health Organisation is monitoring a new coronavirus variant known as "Mu", which was first identified in Colombia in January, the UN health body said on Tuesday in its weekly pandemic bulletin. WHO has classified Mu as a "variant of interest," saying it has mutations that indicate a risk of resistance to vaccines.
There is widespread concern over the emergence of new virus mutations as infection rates are soaring again, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant.
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More than 4,700 cases of the Mu variant have been identified worldwide through genomic sequencing, according to Outbreak.info, an open-source database operated by Scripps Research. The U.S. has identified 2,011 of these cases, with 348 in California. As of Thursday morning, only one state -- Nebraska -- had not yet reported a Mu case.
“At the moment, it looks like there’s genuine cause for concern in USA, Central America and South America, but as we saw with Delta, a potent variant can traverse the globe in the blink of an eye,” Danny Altmann, PhD, an immunologist at Imperial College London, told The Telegraph.
The WHO is monitoring nine variants with genetic mutations that could make them more transmissible, lead to more severe disease, and help them evade vaccines. The Delta variant, which is now a dominant form of the virus in the U.S. and worldwide, has led to a surge in cases and hospitalizations this summer.
In its report, the WHO said it would monitor the Mu variant for changes, “particularly with the co-circulation of the Delta variant.”
“Mu looks potentially good at immune evasion,” Altmann told The Telegraph. “For my taste, it’s a stark reminder that this isn’t by any means over. On a planet of 4.4 million-plus new infections per week, there are new variants popping up all the time, and little reason to feel complacent.”
Source: WebMD Health News Brief
The Mu Covid strain has been added to the World Health Organisation’s “variants of interest” list. Scientists are concerned that the newly identified variant may be able to evade the immunity people have developed from vaccinations or previously having the virus.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/mu-covid-strain-who-what-we-know-b953500.html
In fact, if this variant can evade the antibodies that were formed as a result of natural infection (naturally acquired immunity) or as a result of taking vaccinations (artificially acquired immunity), then this is very dangerous because this would return the situation to the starting point...And here we will be like someone who is in a vicious circle... In addition, evasion of antibodies and immunity has been previously recorded against the Coronavirus and this may be due to the mutations that it is constantly exposed to, some of which are working to develop this virus and make it more deadly... The following RG link contains many opinions for colleagues and useful sources on how the virus hides from immunity due to mutations, I hope it has been useful in relation to this discussion:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_viral_mutations_the_cause_of_COVID-19_escaping_from_antibodies
My sincere gratitude and appreciation Doctor.
Kindly visit..
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/mu-covid-strain-who-what-we-know-b953500.html
Whereas, Mu looks potentially good at immune evasion,. On a planet of 4.4 million-plus new infections per week, there are new variants popping up all the time, and little reason to feel complacent.
Also check..
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_viral_mutations_the_cause_of_COVID-19_escaping_from_antibodies
Thank you Dr. Manal Hadi Kanaan for your comment and for sharing the useful inks. I reckon that a lot is yet to be discovered about the latest variant.
Stay safe & healthy!
Thank you Dr. Esraa Mahmood Alsamee for your comment. All people with all fields are, willy nilly, concerned with the pandemic and its variant.
Wishing the best of health and safety to all people!
Thank you Dr. Ca Dr. Gaurav Bhambri for your comment and the links provided.
It is the WHO that has declared the new variant is one of "special interest". I do think that people should feel "complacent" about anything to do with COVID-19. Nothing should be belittled with regard to a pandemic full of unprecedented variants "popping up" every single day.
Thank you Dr. Radosław Walkowiak for your comment. It is true that "Mu is responsible only for 0.1 percent. infection" so far and sincerely hope it would not raise.
Best regards!
Ahmed T. Hussein
Dear Professor,
Thank you for the interesting topic of discussion.
MU variant is a new variant. It has been found in countries like Japan. There is a possibility that it may erase the 'competitive advantage' that man has got in the form of the COVID vaccines.
Best regards,
Anamitra.
Thank you Dr. Anamitra Roy for your comment.
Mu was first seen in Colombia in January 2021, when it was given the designation B1621. It has since been detected in 40 countries but is thought to currently be responsible for only 0.1% of infections globally.
Mu has been much more prevalent in Colombia than anywhere else. When looking at coronavirus samples that have been genetically sequenced, 39% of those analysed in Colombia have been MU – though no MU samples have been recorded there in the past four weeks.
In contrast, 13% of samples analysed in Ecuador have been MU, with the variant making up 9% of the samples sequenced in the last four weeks, while in Chile just under 40% of sequenced samples have turned out to be MU over the last month. This suggests that the virus is no longer circulating in Colombia, but is being transmitted in other nearby South American countries.
So far, 45 cases have been identified in the UK through genetic analysis, and it looks like they came from overseas. However, as not all COVID-19 cases end up being sequenced to see which variant they are, it’s possible that MU’s prevalence in the UK could be higher.
The key questions are whether MU is more transmissible than the currently dominant variant, delta, and whether it can cause more severe disease.
Wishing all the best of health!
Hi Dr Ahmed T. Hussein . They said in the news that MU is more dangerous than delta because it will not affected by the vaccines.
Thank you Dr. Aref Wazwaz for your comment.
Yes, you are right. It’s possible that MU’s genetic changes might make it more transmissible, allow it to cause more severe disease and render it more able to escape the immune response driven by vaccines or infection with previous variants. This in turn might leave it less susceptible to treatments.
Stay healthy & safe!
As of 8 September 2021 following is known of Mu (B.1.621) SARS-CoV-2 variant
1. First detected in Colombia (South America) in January 2021
2. In Colombia it accounted for 34% of the COVID-19 cases
3. WHO classified B.1.621 as a VOI on 30 August 2021 and given the WHO label “Mu”. This includes the descendent Pango lineage B.1.621.1.
4. As of 29 August 2021, over 4500 sequences (3794 sequences of B.1.621 and 856 sequences of B.1.621.1) have been uploaded to GISAID from 39 countries.
4. It does not seem to be spreading rapidly compared with Delta variant
5. Its susceptibility to the currently available COVID-19 vaccines is still not known.
For current information please have a look at these links:
https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-health-europe-united-states-coronavirus-pandemic-9bc7b53dc5c119ddcfe7e124ae329ed4
WHO: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20210831_Weekly_Epi_Update_55.pdf
Thank you dear Dr. Muhammad Yousuf for your contribution and the links provided. In a press briefing last week, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said U.S. officials are watching it, but so far Mu is not considered an immediate threat. Still, however, a lot is needed to be known about it and, therefore, more caution should be taken especially with the resumption of face-to-face schooling in many countries.
The WHO categorized this mutation as a variant of interest (VOI) indicates that the strain has genetic modifications that could affect virus features such as increased power of transmission and infectivity rate, severity of infection, in addition to resistance to treatment, but actually I think that protective measures are still of big importance trying to fight and lessen the transmission of virus and cope with the continuous change in ways of attack by this aggressive virus..
Thank you Dr. Wasnaa Hadi Abdullah for the valuable information on the variant.
A very topical question! I fully agree and support the opinion of our distinguished colleague Manal Hadi Kanaan. Thank you very much for the interesting information!
SARS-Cov-19 variants Mu and Delta making other variants extinct in Ecuador
https://coronavirus.quora.com/?__ni__=0&__nsrc__=4&__snid3__=27811987886&__tiids__=41454466
Compared with the Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the Mu variant is TWO times as resistant to neutralization by convalescent serum and 1.5 times as resistant to neutralization by vaccine serum.
For details please have a look at this NEJM article:
Article Neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 Mu Variant by Convalescent ...
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