A new COVID-19 variant has been detected in France which has been named IHU.
According to international media the new variant was found to have infected 12 people living in an area near Marseille, a port city in southern France.
Health officials in France found that IHU has 46 mutations which they say is even more mutations than were found in the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.
The media report said the cases are linked to travel to the African country Cameroon.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the new strain has not yet been spotted in other countries and has not labeled the new strain a variant under investigation.
The last strain to be added to the WHO’s list is the Omicron variant which was done back in November 2021.
According to the WHO, a variant of concern is one that increases transmissibility or increase in virulence or decreases vaccine effectiveness.
Experts say new variants keep emerging but it does not mean they will be more dangerous than previous strains.