'IHU' a new Covid-19 variant? Here's what we know so far

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Talks of a new variant, 'IHU,' identified in France, has left citizens on the edge of their seats for what it implies for a world already plunged in darkness by the coronavirus pandemic.

Known as 'IHU', the B.1.640.2 variant had been reported by researchers at institute IHU Mediterranee. However, this variant is not new and the variant was cited to be a week old and yet to be peer-reviewed.

Also Read | New coronavirus variant 'IHU' identified in France

Here's what we know so far:

** According to the researchers, the index (first) case was an adult diagnosed positive by RT-PCR performed in a laboratory on a nasopharyngeal sample collected in mid-November last year. 12 people living in the same geographical area of southeastern France then had the same variant, the first of which had returned from a trip to Cameroon.

** The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on December 29, revealed that IHU has 46 mutations and 37 deletions resulting in 30 amino acid substitutions and 12 deletions.

** Infection has been found in at least 12 cases.

** The B.1.640.2 has not been identified in other countries so far or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Also Read | India reports first death linked to Omicron variant

** According to a report in The Indian Express, the variant, which the study mentions as B.1.640, was first discovered in January 2021. The latest one, with 12 infections in France, has been classified as sub-lineage B.1.640.2.

** The B.1.640 also turned heads in October last year after local media in France reported its discovery. 24 people, including 18 students, were infected at a school in the Brittany region. The school where the outbreak occurred was forced to close 50 per cent of its classes, according to Le Telegramme.

** According to Vinod Scaria, a scientist with CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology, the B.1.640 (now renamed B.1.640.1) had been on the World Health organization's watchlist for some time and predates Omicron.

** Scaria also said that sequences of this variant have not grown rapidly and even though the index case was from Cameroon, it didn't necessarily originate there.

** The WHO is yet to list B.1.640. in variants of concern (VOC) and in variants of interest (VOI).
However, the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) classifies B.1.x or B.1.640 as a variant under monitoring (VUM) or mutant virus.

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