French scientists have discovered a new Covid-19 variant named B.1.640.2, believed to contain 46 mutations of the original strain of the virus.

The new variant was reportedly discovered by experts in the south of France, with scientists expressing concerns over another global Coronavirus pandemic.

“It is believed that the first case originated from travel into the country from Cameroon,” a report on Wednesday said.

A pre-print paper on the new variant said 12 people have tested positive for the strain in the same region of France, the report added.

“The B.1.640 variant has already been defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a variant under monitoring.

This strain of the virus was first discovered by scientists in the Republic of Congo in September 2021, before the Omicron variant.

Virologist Tom Peacock, of Imperial College London, tweeted:

“There haven’t been any new variant sequences uploaded since before Christmas.

“This virus has had a decent chance to cause trouble but never really materialised as far as we can tell at least.

“Not one worth worrying about too much at the moment.”