New strain of coronavirus discovered in Belgium
A new strain of coronavirus has been discovered in Belgium. The variety was named B.1.214, according to the local newspaper Le Soir.
As noted, the stamp was found in the laboratory of the University of Liege. Already 4% of Belgians have been infected with it. “We were interested in this option because it had a mutation that we had never met before,” Vincent Boer, head of the laboratory for analysis and sequencing of COVID-19 at the university, told reporters.
According to him, experts expect to study in detail the properties of B.1.214. “Hundreds of patients with this variant have been sequenced so far. We see that it is gradually increasing in Belgium. However, we are almost sure that this is not a Belgian strain, ”the scientist added.
We will remind, last week, a new variant of COVID-19 was discovered in the Brittany region in northwestern France. This type of infection was difficult to identify, since the patients in whom it was found showed symptoms typical of SARS-CoV-2, but PCR tests gave a negative result.
