The Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data reported 2,461 cases of the mu variant as of last week. In the U.S., California, Florida, Texas and New York have the highest number of cases. “With any type of virus, there are always going to be variants, which is defined as any change or mutation of the actual virus. But what’s most important is that the WHO and CDC keep track of what those variants are and over time, assess the ones that might be a problem,” says Dr. Jessica Shepherd, MDand women’s health expert. “This means an increase in how easily they are transmitted, how infectious they are, and how they’re going to impact the public if there is an increase in transmission.”
What is the mu variant?
Mu is one of these variants that health experts are keeping an eye on because it has appeared in certain parts of the world. “They want to see if this particular variant has the potential to invade immunity,” Dr. Shepherd explains. “And this one’s particularly different just because it popped up in a certain part of the world—mostly in South America and Colombia. Since it made a distinct impact, they’re watching it to make sure it doesn’t start to transmit all over the world. That’s what happened with the delta variant. It started in India and over time we saw it moved its way across the country into other countries.”
Should we worry about the mu variant yet?
It’s not an immediate threat right now. “When health experts look particularly at mu, there are another four that they are actually keeping a very close eye on, and mu necessarily isn’t part of that four. They are looking at alpha, beta, gamma and delta. But because this has been seen in Colombia, they are watching it closely.” Since mu has entered the U.S., it needs to be monitored. “They haven’t made a claim that we’re going to start to see more cases of mu variant, but they want to make sure now that it’s come to the U.S., that we don’t have a rise in cases,” Dr. Shepherd adds.
How can we stay safe?
The best thing we can do to stay safe from the mu variant (and other variants) is to get vaccinated. “There has to be a good number of people who are vaccinated in order to ward off any variants such as mu,” says Dr. Shepherd. “So, because we’re seeing that mu is spreading and arrived in the U.S. more quickly than expected, WHO and CDC encourage more people to get vaccinated. This will help protect against variants such as delta and possibly mu in the future.” Aside from getting vaccinated, Dr. Shepherd recommends social distancing, washing your hands, and wearing a mask. “All of these things are simple lifestyle habits that we can all take part into decrease transmission of the virus. At the end of the day, it’s trying to decrease transmission and active infections by the virus and those are the best ways to do it.”
What do we know about symptoms of the mu variant so far?
The symptoms are going to be similar to what we’ve seen so far since it’s the same virus. “You’ll see that the symptoms are going to be relatively the same. If someone has an infection, it really boils down to their diagnosis—if it is a mu variant versus delta or alpha,” says Dr. Shepherd. The most common symptoms include:
Muscle or body achesLoss of taste or smellCoughShortness of breathSore throatFatigueFever or chillsHeadacheCongestion or runny noseNausea or vomitingDiarrhea
The bottom line: Public health officials are taking the mu variant seriously and keeping an eye on it, but the mu variant is not a threat at this time. It accounts for less than 1% of the cases in the U.S. as of now. “Since there’s a small number of cases, it takes time for us to see. That’s why they are watching it more closely to see how it’s different, how it’s the same, and how they can come up with recommendations based on the differences and similarities,” Dr. Shepherd states. Next, read If You Got the COVID Vaccine, Can You Spread the Virus to Other People?
Sources
The Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza DataDr. Jessica Shepherd, MD and Chief Medical Officer of Verywell HealthCDC: “Symptoms of COVID-19”
