What happened: France’s IHU Mediterranee Infection institute discovered the new Covid-19 variant, which contains 46 mutations. French media reported that 12 cases of the new variant named “IHU” had been reported in Marseilles. The French scientists claim that IHU’s origin is from Africa, as the 12 positive cases reported had returned from Cameroon. Details: However, the French scientists at the infection institute are quoted by DowntoEarth as, “These observations show once again the unpredictability of the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and their introduction from abroad, and they exemplify the difficulty to control such introduction and subsequent spread.” It is pertinent to mention that since the first reported case of Covid-19 was witnessed in China, there have been five variants of concern. What else: France has been recording more than 200,000 positive cases since January 1 and it has also become the 6th country to record over ten million Covid-19 cases since its start. However, the latest variant has not been labelled as a variant under investigation by the WHO because no other country has reported positive cases of the concerned variant.
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