New Delhi, January 10: Taking cognisance of reports that suggested the emergence of a new "USA variant" of COVID-19, the top anti-epidemic body of the United States issued a clarification. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while noting that the virus may have mutated multiple times, said no such particular strain has been identified yet.

The "USA variant" was first reported by the American press on Friday, after a White House coronavirus task force statement claimed that a new mutated version of the virus may be responsible for the unprecedented surge in infections since the onset of winter. White House COVID-19 Task Force Warns of Possible 'USA Variant'.

According to the CDC, the task force made a hypothetical assessment, rather than confirming the detection of a new variant. The possibility of a new USA variant of coronavirus was suggested by Dr Deborah Birx, a member of the White House task force, reported NYT. Her views were included in the statement issued earlier this week.

"This acceleration suggests there may be a 'USA variant' that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50 per cent more transmissible," said the report, calling for aggressive mitigation to match a much more aggressive virus," the report of White House panel stated.

The CDC officials who spoke to the publication said no specific strain, to which the COVID-19 spike of November-December could be attributed, has been identified yet. The UK variant, which has been found in several community outbreaks, accounts for 0.5 percent of the total cases.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 10, 2021 11:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).