This hitherto unknown variant was reportedly discovered in early December 2021 in a patient from Cameroon.
It is an umpteenth variant that makes its appearance. After the recent Omicron, here comes B.1.640.2 (provisional name). According to French media, an individual who flew to Marseille from Cameroon infected at least twelve people with this new variant. However, virologist Steven Van Gucht reassures. "It is normal for the virus to mutate. He does it almost every day," he told Het Laatste Nieuws.
To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not issued any opinion on the issue. Discovered in a hospital of Professor Raoult, very controversial in France this new variant is classified as "variant under surveillance". The work carried out since then by the teams of the Institut Méditerranée Infection seems to show that this new strain would include 46 mutations of the virus.
