WHO monitoring B.1.621 variant of coronavirus: All you need to know about Mu variant

The World Health Organization on Tuesday said that it is monitoring a new variant of coronavirus, 'Mu', which is scientifically known as B.1.621. The WHO has classified 'Mu' as a 'variant of interest,' the global health body said in its weekly COVID-19 pandemic bulletin. 

What is the B.1.621 variant? 

First identified in Columbia last year, the WHO said that the 'Mu' variant has indicated a risk of resistance to COVID-19 vaccines. The health agency said that further studies are needed to better understand the variant. 

The WHO has said, "The Mu variant has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape."

Mu variant is now among the five variants of interest, including Eta, Iota, Kappa, and Lambda.

The B.1.621 variant has also been reported in other South American countries and in Europe. While the variant has not widespread across the globe, in Colombia, its presence is 39 percent. 

The Mu variant's global prevalence has declined to below 0.1 percent among sequenced cases, the WHO said in its bulletin. 

 The detection of the mu variant comes amid the widespread concern over the emergence of new virus mutations with the highly transmissible Delta variant becoming prevalent, especially among the unvaccinated and in regions with relaxed COVID measures. 

All viruses, including COVID causing SARS-CoV-2, mutate over time while mutations have little or no effect on the properties of the virus. However, some mutations can impact the properties of a virus, influencing how fast it spreads, the severity of the disease, its resistance to vaccines, drugs and other countermeasures, news agency AFP reported.