Malaysia detects 10 times deadlier new COVID-19 strain

Malaysia's Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said the newly found strain could mean that existing studies on vaccines may be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation.

Kuala Lumpur:Malaysia has detected a new COVID-19 strain which is 10 times more infectious than the existing one, media reports said on Monday.

The mutation, previously found in other parts of the world and called D614G, was detected in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner returning from India who has been sentenced to five months in prison and fined.

Reportedly, the strain was found in another cluster involving a group of people returning from the Philippines.

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The strain could mean that existing studies on vaccines may be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation, said Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Though the mutation has become the predominant variant in Europe and the US, WHO said that there is no evidence the strain leads to more severe disease.