A new variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed in two patients, a Helsinki lab said Wednesday, a week after the strain was first reported in Finland
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2021) A new variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed in two patients, a Helsinki lab said Wednesday, a week after the strain was first reported in Finland.
The mutation, identified provisionally as Fin-796H, appears to be circulating undetected by tests, the Helsinki-based Vita Laboratories said.
"Another corona infection caused by the same variant has been confirmed. There are presumably more cases," a press statement read.
The lab has mapped out the genome of the elusive new strain. It identified 15 areas in the genetic code that are unique to this mutation. It also shares some of the mutations seen in the UK and South African strains.
Research director Petri Auvinen said such a number of mutations could only accumulate over a long period in a region where genetic sequencing was hardly being done, suggesting it came from outside Finland.
