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The expert emphasizes the need to increase the sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in India and actively search the entire country, while advising people to be more cautious during the Christmas season.
There is no evidence yet to indicate that the new variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly in England, has entered the Indian shores.
Although the pathogen’s new mutation has sparked global panic, a silver lining is that it may not affect upcoming Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech vaccines, which are based on inactivated viruses, said a leading Indian scientist.
“So far, we have not reported this new variant of coronavirus in India. There may be two reasons for this. One is that it may not have reached the shores of India yet. The second reason could be that it is already present here, but so far we have not been able to isolate the new mutation, ”said Hyderabad-based Center for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB) director Dr RK Mishra.
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Indian genetic researchers are preparing to speed up the sequencing of the genome of SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease COVID-19, to determine whether the new mutation of the virus has already entered India or whether other new mutations have occurred in the country.
The CCMB, a premier CSIR institution, has already decoded 400 whole genome sequences and submitted them to the Global Coronavirus Database: Global Initiative for Sharing All Data on Influenza (GISAID).
Genome sequencing is crucial to identify the host response and population vulnerability to COVID-19. CCMB researchers have found that there is so far no significant genetic variation of the pathogen in India.
“It is the same virulent strain all over the world. There is no specific strain for the region, ”Dr. Mishra said.
On the UK strain related to the change in spike protein, which allows the virus to enter human cells, the director of CCMB said the mutation was cause for concern and that its spread could be controlled by ensuring social distancing, the use of masks and maintenance. personal hygiene.
“We need to increase the SARS-CoV-2 virus sequencing process in India and actively search across the country. By doing further sequencing, we have to determine whether the UK variant is present here or not. Sequencing should be taken, especially of recent COVID-19 infections, which will help us understand and find if there are any new mutations in the country, ”said Dr. Mishra.
The chief geneticist noted that India already had a high burden of COVID-19 infections, compared to countries like the UK. “After the United States, we have the highest number of COVID-19 infections. There is a possibility that there are many more SARS-CoV-2 mutations within India itself. So there is a need for constant sequencing of virus genomes and we plan to do that, ”he said.
Common mutation
While it is common for viruses to mutate and undergo changes in their genetic code, the mutation seen in the UK is related to the change in spike protein, which allows the virus to enter human cells. This change is potentially concerning, as it has made the virus capable of infecting people at a much higher rate.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, scientists who sequenced samples of the coronavirus have been tracking those changes to obtain information on how and where the pathogen has been spreading. Some 4,000 different mutations have already been documented in the Sars-Cov-2 virus that causes COVID-19 as it spreads around the world. So far none have been a real cause for concern, but the UK strain has raised the alarm. In London alone, 62 percent of infections reported in the second week of December were attributed to the new strain, compared with 28 percent three weeks earlier.
The sharp rise in COVID-19 infections in the UK is believed to have started in the first week of December. It is not yet clear whether the mutated strain has already entered India via travelers from the UK, Europe, South Africa and Australia, where new variants of the virus have been reported.
The genetic code of the new variant has caught the attention of scientists because of how much it differs from the original version. It has a distinct genetic signature that exhibits an unusually large number of genetic changes, particularly in its spike protein, which are more likely to alter its function. However, vaccines train the immune system to attack several different parts of the virus, so even though part of the beak has mutated, the vaccines should still work.
“The new strain is very efficient compared to other strains. It is superior in causing higher infectivity even when infectivity among the population is already high. It is definitely evolving faster and binding to the receptor more effectively, which is expected of any variant of the virus. However, it does not appear to be more clinically or medically dangerous and there are no changes in symptoms, ”said the director of CCMB.
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Indians should be more cautious especially during the Christmas season because as the virus is working overtime and the only way we can win is by preventing infection. “We cannot afford for the virus to mutate and experience more in a population as large and dense as ours. The responsibility rests with us to prevent the spread of a more virulent form of the virus, although the latest mutation has not yet been seen in the country. If we haven’t seen it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there, ”Dr. Mishra warned.
