'Mu variant bears traces of previous coronavirus variants'

Mu variant carries risk of easier transmission, preventing antibody response, says Turkish scientist

ANKARA:

The Mu variant of the coronavirus carries some strains of Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants and needs to be monitored, according to a member of Turkey's Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board.

"Currently, the Delta variant is the most dominant variant in Turkey as well, and we see it in over 90% cases in our country," Afsin Emre Kayipmaz told Anadolu Agency.

He recalled that European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control defines the Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants as "a worrying variant".

"The characteristic of the Delta variant is that it is at least two times more contagious than the previous variants, for example, the wild type that originated in Wuhan or the British variant is described as Alpha variant,” said Kayipmaz.

Regarding the Mu variant, under the WHO classification of a "variant of interest", he said it carries a risk of easier transmission between people, and at the same time, preventing antibody response obtained by vaccines or going through the disease.