Skip to content
Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Primary Menu Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us
  • Featured

New Variant ‘IHU’ Identified In France, May Have 46 Mutations

Jan 4, 2022 | Pratirodh Bureau

FILE PHOTO: A health worker, wearing a protective suit and a face mask, prepares to administer a nasal swab to a patient at a testing site for the coronavirus in front of the city hall in Paris, France

As the world grapples with the highly mutated Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, scientists have identified a new strain of the COVID-19 causing virus in southern France.

Known as ‘IHU’, the B.1.640.2 variant has been reported by researchers at institute IHU Mediterranee Infection in at least 12 cases, and has been linked to travel to African country Cameroon.

However, the researchers noted that it is too early to speculate on how this variant behaves as far as infection and protection from vaccines is concerned.

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.

Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins, and both are the building blocks of life.

Fourteen amino acid substitutions, including N501Y and E484K, and nine deletions are located in the spike protein.

Most currently used vaccines are targeted at the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which the virus uses to enter and infect the cells.

N501Y and E484K mutations were earlier also found in Beta, Gamma, Theta and Omicron variants.

“The mutation set and phylogenetic position of the genomes obtained here indicate based on our previous definition a new variant we named IHU,” the authors of the study said.

“These data are another example of the unpredictability of the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, and of their introduction in a given geographical area from abroad,” they added.

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).

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.

Epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding posted a long Twitter thread in which he said that new variants keep emerging but it does not necessarily mean they will be more dangerous.

“What makes a variant more well-known and dangerous is its ability to multiply because of the number of mutations it has in relation to the original virus,” Feigl-Ding tweeted on Tuesday.

“This is when it becomes a ‘variant of concern’ – like Omicron, which is more contagious and more past immunity evasive. It remains to be seen in which category this new variant will fall,” he said.

Many countries are currently experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant which was first identified in South Africa and Botswana in November last year.

Since then, the variant of concern has spread to over 100 countries.

In India, a total of 1,892 cases of Omicron variant have been detected across 23 states and Union Territories so far. (PTI)

Tags: 'IHU' variant, COVID-19, new COVID-19 variant, Pratirodh, WHO, World Health Organization

Continue Reading

Previous P5’s First-Ever Joint Statement On Preventing Nuclear War
Next Scientist, Enforcer, High-Flyer: 3 Women Put A Mark On Tech

More Stories

  • Featured

Rethinking India’s Cities Through The Eyes Of Women Caregivers

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

NHRC Writes To States, Union Territories On Ending Manual Scavenging

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Unpacking Three Decades Of Restoration In The Western Himalayas

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • Rethinking India’s Cities Through The Eyes Of Women Caregivers
  • NHRC Writes To States, Union Territories On Ending Manual Scavenging
  • Unpacking Three Decades Of Restoration In The Western Himalayas
  • Urban Commons Shape The Lives Of India’s Gig Workers [Commentary]
  • Junko Tabei – Why Do So Few People Know Her Life Story?
  • Cong To Take Out Rallies Against PM’s ‘Silence On Halting Op Sindoor’
  • Trump Is Comparing PM Modi With Pak’s Sharif: Congress
  • On Including The Military In Climate Action…
  • Preserving Glaciers Is Key To The Survival Of Humanity (Opinion)
  • Living In The Most Polluted City In The World
  • Norms Change In South Asia, Making Future De-Escalation Much Harder
  • IWT: The Lawfare Of India’s Position
  • US Trying To Hyphenate India, Pak: Congress
  • Book Review: Understanding The Challenges Of This Bountiful Planet
  • What India’s River Moves Mean For South Asian Water Cooperation
  • Farmers In Punjab’s Border Villages Navigate Conflict And Survival
  • Trapped Between Two Nuclear Powers, People Of Kashmir Continue To Suffer
  • How India Can Evolve An Inclusive Policy For The Hearing Impaired
  • Why A Hotline Between India, Pak Is Crucial To Prevent A Disastrous War
  • Pak Strikes: Five Essential Reads On Decades Of Rivalry Over Kashmir

Search

Main Links

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us

Related Stroy

  • Featured

Rethinking India’s Cities Through The Eyes Of Women Caregivers

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

NHRC Writes To States, Union Territories On Ending Manual Scavenging

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Unpacking Three Decades Of Restoration In The Western Himalayas

2 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Urban Commons Shape The Lives Of India’s Gig Workers [Commentary]

3 days ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Junko Tabei – Why Do So Few People Know Her Life Story?

3 days ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • Rethinking India’s Cities Through The Eyes Of Women Caregivers
  • NHRC Writes To States, Union Territories On Ending Manual Scavenging
  • Unpacking Three Decades Of Restoration In The Western Himalayas
  • Urban Commons Shape The Lives Of India’s Gig Workers [Commentary]
  • Junko Tabei – Why Do So Few People Know Her Life Story?
Copyright © All rights reserved. | CoverNews by AF themes.