Ohio State researchers discover new variant of COVID-19 virus
Scientists at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine have discovered a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The new variant carries a mutation identical to the U.K. strain, but it likely arose in a virus strain already present in the United States.
The new variant was discovered in one patient from Ohio, so researchers do not yet know the prevalence of the strain in the population. The researchers also report the evolution of another U.S. strain that acquired three other gene mutations not previously seen together in SARS-CoV-2.
