Dallas health officials are warning the public of a new variant of the coronavirus called Mu that has been detected in Dallas.
The variant Mu is reportedly capable of eluding a person’s COVID-19 antibodies, as well as antibodies supplied by the current coronavirus vaccines.
According to the World Wide Health Organization, the Mu variant is something the public and health officials should watch. But the variant has yet to cause major concern, as it has been reported in less than 1% of the population of every state with the exception of the state of Nebraska.
Currently, Dallas has 5 cases reported of the strain that was first detected in Columbia in January 2021. The Mu variant is reported to have similar mutations to that of the strains “alpha” and “gamma.” The Mu variant has also been detected in Houston with 40-50 cases reported since May 2021.
U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has also publicly addressed the variant Mu, sharing that it is not “an immediate threat.”
Health officials and state officials should keep an eye out for the Mu variant. However, the Delta variant still remains a major threat.
“It’s still early and difficult to measure how infectious and how effective the mu variant is. But the world is a small place during the pandemic, so we’re staying vigilant,” Stuart Ray, professor of medicine at John Hopkins University, shared regarding the Mu variant.
Dallas officials have become increasingly concerned as school is back in session. Since students have returned to public schools there has been an increase in COVID cases by 90%. Most of those cases detected have been caused by the Delta variant.
Many schools throughout Texas have closed down in-person learning as cases have increased with hospitals struggling to keep up with patient loads involving COVID cases.
