COVID-19 IHU variant: Know all about new IHU Coronavirus variant found in France

Scientists in France have discovered a new strain of Coronavirus that is believed to be more infectious than the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Scientists at the Méditerranée Infection University Hospital Institute (IHU) first discovered the new variant on December 10. The new strain has been dubbed as B.1.640.2. or IHU. 

According to a research paper published on medRxiv, the new variant is more transmittable and vaccine-resistant than the existing Omicron variant, news agency Sputnik reported. The IHU variant is said to have 46 mutations and 37 deletions. At least 12 cases of the new variant have been reported near Marseilles, with reports indicating that majority of the victims were hospitalised. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been much higher in demand in southern France owing to the new variant.

The first patient had a travel history to Cameroon in central Africa 

"In the Marseilles geographical area, we have numerous cases of this novel variant. We have named it as IHU variant. Two new genomes had already been submitted," Professor Philippe Colson, the leader of the department that discovered the new variant stated in the research paper. The research paper stated that the first person to be infected with the IHU variant was fully vaccinated and had a travel history to Cameroon in central Africa in November. He got moderate respiratory symptoms three days after returning.

According to Colson, the patient's nasopharyngeal sample revealed an uncommon combination that did not match the pattern either of the Omicron variant or the Delta variant, which was involved in almost all SARS-CoV-2 infections at the time. After analysing by qPCR, the identical combination of mutations was found in respiratory samples obtained from seven other SARS-CoV-2-positive patients residing in the same geographic area. There were two adults and five kids in the group, Colson added as per a report by Sputnik.  

E484K mutation makes the IHU variant more vaccine-resistant

According to the research paper, the E484K mutation has been discovered in the IHU variant, which is likely to make it more vaccine-resistant. Apart from this, the N501Y mutation has also been found, initially discovered in the Alpha variant, which could make the strain more contagious. Meanwhile, the mutations in the new variant have resulted in 14 amino acid substitutions and nine amino acid deletions in the spike protein of the virus. The paper's authors also claimed that it was too early to speculate on the virological, epidemiological, or clinical aspects of this IHU variant based on the 12 cases found so far. 

The WHO yet to investigate the IHU variant

According to Epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding, the emergence of the new variants does not necessarily mean they will be more deadly. "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," he said as per PTI. "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 further added. It should be mentioned here that the IHU variant has not been investigated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) yet. 

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