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B.1.640.2 IHU Variant
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:43 pm
by Bird on a Fire
The discovery of the variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, was announced in a paper posted on medRxiv.
Called IHU, as of now, the strain was discovered by academics based at the IHU Mediterranee Infection on 10 December.
Here’s what we know so far of this new COVID-19 variant:
• Researchers say that it contains 46 mutations — even more than Omicron — which makes it more resistant to vaccines and infectious.
• Some 12 cases have been spotted so far near Marseille, with the first linked to travel to the African country Cameroon.
• Tests show the strain carries the N501Y mutation — first seen on the Alpha variant — that experts believe can make it more transmissible
• According to the scientists, it also carries the E484K mutation, which could mean that the IHU variant will be more resistant to vaccines.
• It is yet to be spotted in other countries or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization.
https://www.firstpost.com/health/france ... 56521.html
Re: B.1.640.2 IHU Variant
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:12 pm
by Trinucleus
Presumably if it's less transmissible than Omicron it will struggle to take hold?
Re: B.1.640.2 IHU Variant
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:24 pm
by Gfamily
Trinucleus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:12 pm
Presumably if it's less transmissible than Omicron it will struggle to take hold?
Doesn't the N501Y mutation make it more transmissible?
"More than
what?" is the main question, I guess
Re: B.1.640.2 IHU Variant
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:42 pm
by jdc
Gfamily wrote: ↑Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:24 pm
Trinucleus wrote: ↑Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:12 pm
Presumably if it's less transmissible than Omicron it will struggle to take hold?
Doesn't the N501Y mutation make it more transmissible?
"More than
what?" is the main question, I guess
I think Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omicron all have the N501Y mutation.
Gamma and Beta also had E484K, which is the immune escape mutation mentioned above.
Re: B.1.640.2 IHU Variant
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 5:04 pm
by Brightonian
Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Tue Jan 04, 2022 3:43 pm
The discovery of the variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, was announced in a paper posted on medRxiv.
Called IHU, as of now, the strain was discovered by academics based at the IHU Mediterranee Infection on 10 December.
Here’s what we know so far of this new COVID-19 variant:
• Researchers say that it contains 46 mutations — even more than Omicron — which makes it more resistant to vaccines and infectious.
• Some 12 cases have been spotted so far near Marseille, with the first linked to travel to the African country Cameroon.
• Tests show the strain carries the N501Y mutation — first seen on the Alpha variant — that experts believe can make it more transmissible
• According to the scientists, it also carries the E484K mutation, which could mean that the IHU variant will be more resistant to vaccines.
• It is yet to be spotted in other countries or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization.
https://www.firstpost.com/health/france ... 56521.html
The director of the IHU is one Didier Raoult, according to
its Twitter profile...
Re: B.1.640.2 IHU Variant
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 12:53 am
by sTeamTraen
Raoult is capable of anything, including making up his own variant, to distract from the various professional and legal trouble he is in.
Re: B.1.640.2 IHU Variant
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:51 am
by Woodchopper
Here's a preprint:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101 ... 21268174v1
B.1.640.2 doesn't appear to be as alarming as Omicron.
B.1.640.2 was first
sequenced in early-November, before Omicron. Since then Omi has gone on to become the dominant strain in many countries and B.1.640.2 doesn't appear to have spread from the south of France.
But its worth keeping an eye on the variant and its a reminder that there is still much potential for new variants to evolve.