French scientists discover new mutant Covid variant which could be more resistant to vaccines

Alarm bells are ringing after a new Covid variant was detected in France, with a renowned health expert pointing out a “worrying” sign.

Scientists are on alert after a new variant was detected in France. Picture: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/AFP

The medical world is on alert yet again after a new mutant Covid-19 variant emerged in France recently.

The new strain, dubbed “variant IHU” or B. 1.640.2, was first detected in the nation last month, but is now making international headlines after catching the attention of global experts.

At least 12 cases were confirmed near the Marseilles area, and it is understood that many of those patients were hospitalised with the illness.

Variant IHU, which is believed to be linked with travel to the African nation of Cameroon, has 46 mutations which experts fear could mean it is more resistant to existing vaccines.

However, on a more positive note, the new strain does not appear to be spreading rapidly.

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The variant was discovered by researchers from the The Méditerranée Infection University Hospital Institute (IHU), but is not yet under investigation by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

There is also no concrete evidence it has spread past the French border, although there are unconfirmed claims it may have already entered the UK.

The variant was discovered in Marseilles last month. Picture: Google Maps

IHU Professor Philippe Colson, the head of the department that discovered the variant, posted details of the strain in a paper posted online last month, which is yet to be published in a medical journal.

“We indeed have several cases of this new variant in the Marseilles geographical area,” he wrote.

“We named it ‘variant IHU’. Two new genomes have just been submitted.”

The paper claimed the “index case” was a fully-vaccinated man who had returned from a trip to Cameroon in November three days before returning a positive result in France after developing “mild respiratory symptoms” a day earlier.

🔔NEW VARIANT—French scientists have “rung the bell” after discovering a cluster 12 cases of a variant of “atypical combination” with **46 mutations & 37 deletions** in southern France after index case returned from Cameroon🇨🇲—dubbed #B16402.🧵 #COVID19https://t.co/SHXCbnkQUrpic.twitter.com/UwdL2hSW5g

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) January 3, 2022

“Subsequent detection by qPCR of three mutations in the spike gene to screen for variants, as systematically performed in France in case of SARS-CoV-2 positivity, revealed an atypical combination with L452R-negativity, E484K-positivity, and E484Q-negativity … that did not correspond to the pattern of the Delta variant involved in almost all SARS-CoV-2 infections at that time,” the paper continued.

The paper argued the emergence of the new strain proves the importance of ‘genomic surveillance’. Picture: Karen Ducey/Getty Images/AFP

A number of other Covid-positive patients living in the same area – including several children – also revealed “the same combination of mutations”.

The paper argued that the emergence of the new strain proved the importance of thorough testing and “genomic surveillance”.

“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 noted, but added that it was “too early to speculate on virological, epidemiological or clinical features of this IHU variant based on these 12 cases.”

The new strain was detected in southern France. Picture: twitter

US epidemiologist and health economist Eric Feigl-Ding is one of a growing number of experts outside of France to raise the alarm over the new variant, with the Harvard-trained doctor taking to Twitter on Tuesday to spread the word about the variant of “atypical combination”.

In a series of tweets, he stressed that new variants are constantly being detected, but it doesn’t 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,” he posted.

“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.”

A US epidemiologist has pointed out a ‘worrying’ sign. Picture: Twitter

But he pointed out one data point which he said was “worrying” – the fact that ICU rates are far higher in the region of France where the variant cluster is located, compared with the rest of the country.

Variant ‘not worth worrying about’

However, the fact that most of the positive samples were collected in November has led many to believe that it may already have been crushed by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant, which began ripping through the world in late November.

Guys, B.1.640.2 isn’t new. It actually PREDATES Omicron. It's a sub-lineage of B.1.640- which caused some concern back in mid-November but couldn’t even compete with Delta. B.1.640.2 was first sequenced OVER a month ago and was officially recognized as a lineage in December.

— Chise 🧬🧫🦠💉 (@sailorrooscout) January 3, 2022

That idea was also pushed by Imperial College London virologist Dr Tom Peacock, who was among the first to sound the alarm over the Omicron variant last year.

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, he explained that despite the recent flurry of interest in the IHU variant, it “actually predates Omicron”, and in the time since it was first detected, only 20 sequences had been found, while Omicron had around 120 in a shorter time span.

Lots of chat about B.1.640.2 in the last few days - just a few points to keep in mind:
- B.1.640.2 actually predates Omicron
- in all that time there are exactly... 20 sequences (compared to the >120k Omis in less time)
Def not one worth worrying about too much at the mo...

— Tom Peacock (@PeacockFlu) January 3, 2022

France’s Covid crackdown

The news comes as France announced a fresh plan to crack down on the unvaccinated.

Under a proposed new bill, unvaccinated residents could be barred from entering restaurants, bars and other public venues.

If adopted, the bill will kick in from January 15, and will replace the current health pass system, which requires proof of full vaccination or recovery from Covid-19 before an individual is able to access public venues.

It would allow workers to carry out identity checks on customers if their vaccine pass was in doubt, and venues that fail to check the authenticity of customers’ passes could face stiff penalties.

Those who use fake passes will face five years behind bars and a fine of €75,000 ($A117,000).