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The mu coronavirus variant has been marked as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization and has spread through Chile, Peru and parts of the United States and Europe.
The Mu variant is the fifth variant of the coronavirus of interest monitored by the organization. Stuart Ray, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, said the variant accounted for most cases in Colombia, Chile and Peru, but only a few cases in the United States.
In the United States, the variant accounts for about 2,461 cases as of Friday, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data. The states with the highest mu variant cases are California, Florida, Texas, and New York.
The mu variant was first detected in January 2021 in Colombia and has since spread to parts of South Korea, Canada, Europe and Japan, according to the WHO.
New Jersey has reported 16 mu cases in the past four weeks, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said in a briefing on Wednesday. Kentucky confirmed its first case of the mu variant on Thursday.
“The mu variant represents a very, very small proportion of variant cases in New Jersey and the United States, but we continue to monitor it,” Persichilli said.
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For now, Ray said, what’s concerning is that mu has similarities to more deadly variants such as the delta variant, which is the cause of more than 99% of cases in the United States.
Even though cases are slowly increasing in the United States, Ray said residents should not panic.
“The increase in mu cases is always sporadic and I predict it will still not be threatening compared to the delta variant,” Ray told USA TODAY. “The public should remain vigilant but not be afraid of the mu variant at this time.”
The great specialist in infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, said Thursday at a press conference that the government “was keeping a very close eye on it”. But he confirmed that the dominant and most concerning coronavirus variant remains the delta strand.
Ray said it was highly unlikely that the mu variant and other variants outperform the delta variant cases.
“It is still early and difficult to measure how infectious and efficient the mu variant is. But the world is a small place during the pandemic, so we remain vigilant, ”Ray told USA TODAY.
In South America and South Korea, Ray said, COVID-19 vaccines have been effective in protecting people from serious illness against the mu variant. Fauci said in the press briefing that the variant may outperform some antibodies, but there is still a lack of research.
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In Colombia and Peru, Ray said, the variant has shown “high rates of transmissibility,” but there is no cause for concern in the United States yet.
Until more cases or research on the mu variant are released, Ray urged Americans to continue wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
“Some features of the coronavirus variants seem to make the virus more infectious, and we see some of those features in the mu variant,” Ray said. “But at the moment, we don’t have any major concerns.”
Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the COVID mu variant? And is it already in the United States?
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