Filenews 22 March 2021
A new mutation of the coronavirus was detected in Belgium by the University of Liège and is currently associated with about 4% of infections in the country.
The strain - B.1.214 or "Spike Insertion" - was first discovered in January and its spread is being closely monitored by researchers from ULiège and KU Leuven, Le Soir newspaper reported.
"At present, about 100 cases have been recorded with this variant and much more data is needed to find out the effects of the virus. But we can see that it is gradually increasing in Belgium, especially in Brussels, Flemish Brabant and Edo," said Vincent Bours, professor of human genetics and head of the Sars-Cov-2 analysis and sequencing laboratory at the University of Liège.
He added that this variant caught the attention of scientists because it had a "mutation that had almost never been observed before."
Source: RES-BE
