The government announced this Wednesday that a new “double mutant variant” of the new coronavirus has been detected in the country, along with the three variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. The government stressed, however, that the mutations have not been detected in numbers that would be “sufficient” to establish the rapid increase in cases in some states.
These variants detected in the community “have been prevalent since the last 6-8 months,” said the Center. “The appearance of mutations is a natural process. The RNA strand of the virus will replicate and make mistakes that lead to mutations. We should not worry about mutations, ”said Dr. VK Paul, chair of the Covid-19 working group of India.
“However,” said Dr. Paul, “the most important thing to remember is that viruses will not mutate if they are not allowed to replicate. Therefore, we only have to suppress the chain of transmission to stop the virus mutations. Testing, quarantine and containment will limit the spread of the virus. “
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has detected a new double mutant variant, the E484Q mutation, which may escape antibody neutralization and the L452R mutations associated with increased infectivity, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. of the Union. A total of 206 cases of the double mutant variant (E484Q + L452R) have been detected in Maharashtra, data shows.
However, a direct link between the ongoing increase in Maharashtra and the detection of the double mutant variant has not been established, the Center said. The increase in cases is the result of a large susceptible population being exposed to the virus for the first time, the government said.
“The double mutant variant is evolving. They have been observed in 206 samples in Maharashtra and in varying numbers in Delhi. When we link it (to mutations), we have to see where the samples have been collected. This is very relevant. In Nagpur, we have found a substantial number of around 20 percent; that 20 percent simply correlate with the type of surge is not possible, ”said Dr. Sujeet Kumar Singh, Director of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
“Because the one-to-one equation has not been established… We are seeing an increase in the Nagpur districts, which were less affected in the previous increase. The susceptible population group in those eight districts was substantially large. When this population was exposed to the virus, it resulted in an increase, ”said Dr. Singh.
The double mutant variant has also been reported in Delhi (9 cases), Gujarat (3) and Punjab (2), the Center said. Jammu, Ladakh and Odisha have each detected one case.
Needs study, but the government signals its complacency
The double mutant is a “variant of interest,” requiring further research to establish a direct link to the ongoing increase. The second wave is attributable to a large susceptible population that was unaffected in the first wave and a lowering of the guard in recent months.
The Center said the three variants from the UK, Brazil and South Africa, which the WHO has named “Variants of Concern” (VOC), have been detected in 18 states. However, this would not affect India’s vaccination campaign, he said.
“It is well established by research studies in the literature and published literature, that both vaccines that are available in our country are effective against the UK and Brazilian variants. Research on the South African variant is ongoing at the moment, ”said Dr. Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR).
Dr. Singh said that as of today, new mutations can be called “variants of interest.” “There are three terms, the three variants of concern classified by the WHO; the second is the variant of interest, which are mutations found in the peak protein region of the virus, and the third is the variant that needs detailed investigation, and we call them investigational variants, “he said.
“The test and treatment protocol remains the same. There is also no deviation in public health measures with emerging variants. Group containment measures remain the same, ”said Dr. Singh.
The top five states with the UK variant (B.1.1.7) are: Punjab (336), Telangana (87), Delhi (65), Maharashtra (56) and Gujarat (39), the Center said.
And the top five states with the South African variant (B.1.351) are: Telangana (17), Maharashtra (5), Delhi (4), Karnataka (3) and Andhra Pradesh (3). Only one case of the Brazilian variant (P1), from Madhya Pradesh, has been detected.
Dr. Singh said that states that are currently witnessing surges “have revealed different post-sequencing mutation profiles.”
“There are many reasons for a sudden increase. The main reason is the set of susceptible populations. Wherever the susceptible population group is large, and as long as this population lowers its guard and does not follow the appropriate Covid-19 behavior, they will be infected by a variant or by the normal virus. This has been the main reason why we have seen the recent increase, ”he said.
The Health Ministry also said that the N440K variant, which is associated with immune escape, has been found in 123 samples from 11 districts of Kerala. “This variant was previously found in 33% of samples from Andhra Pradesh, and in 53 of 104 samples from Telangana,” the ministry said.
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