New York: The US has detected about 2,000 cases of the new Mu variant of Covid-19, according to open-access database GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data).
Early this week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated Mu or “B.1.621” as a variant of interest (VOI) for its vaccine resistance.
First identified from Colombia in January this year, infections from Mu have since been recorded in South America as well as in Europe, South Korea, Japan, Canada, and the US.
Most cases have been recorded in California, Florida, Texas, and New York, among others, the Washington Post reported.
But, it is not an “immediate threat right now” in the US, where the Delta variant remains the cause of over 99 percent of cases in the country, top infectious disease expert Anthony S. Fauci was quoted as saying at a press briefing this week.
While the government was “keeping a very close eye on it,” the variant was “not at all even close to being dominant”, he added.
As of August 29, over 4,500 sequences (3,794 sequences of B.1.621 and 856 sequences of B.1.621.1) GISAID from 39 countries, the WHO said.
The global prevalence among sequenced cases has declined and is currently below 0.1 per cent, the WHO has said. But the global health body said that it is monitoring the new Covid-19 strain as cases continue to emerge across parts of the world.