Scientists fear that a new variant of COVID-19 in Finland – different from strains in the UK and South Africa – may fuel the spread of the disease by not appearing in tests, according to reports.
Vita Laboratories in Helsinki, which made the discovery, said the variant is unlikely to occur in Finland, given the low infection rate in the Scandinavian country, Evening Standard reported.
“Vita Laboratoriot Oy and the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Helsinki have detected a previously unknown variant of coronavirus in a sample from southern Finland,” the laboratory said of the variant, called “Fin-796H”.
“Mutations in this variant make it difficult to detect in at least one of the PCR tests recommended by the WHO. This finding could have a significant impact on determining the spread of the disease, he added.
Ilkka Julkunen, a professor of virology at the University of Turku, told local media Yle that the appearance of the variant was not yet a major concern.
“I would not be worried yet because we do not have clear information that this new strain would be easier to transmit or that it would affect the immune protection caused by the fact that it already had the virus or received a vaccination,” he said. according to the Standard.
Referring to strains from South Africa and the United Kingdom, the lab said that “the Fin-796H heritage has the same features as variants previously spread around the world, but does not appear to belong to any previously known variant,” Sun reported.
It is unclear how effective vaccines will be against the new variant.
Finland has recorded 51,595 cases and 723 deaths since the pandemic began.