(This story was first published in the Times of India on December 26, 2020)
Mumbai:
The search for the UK mutant strain of
COVID-19 He arrived closer to home with one of the passengers who had traveled from the western country to the city after testing positive for the virus on November 23.
Two other passengers who returned to the UK, one from Pune and the other from Nagpur, have also tested positive since the state government launched a surveillance to check passengers who landed in Maharashtra between November 23 and December 25.
Samples from these three patients will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for gene sequencing to verify the new highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 mutation. The new variant reportedly emerged in the UK in September and has become the dominant strain accounting for 70% of cases since then.
“We now have three positive patients out of 329 passengers tested by RT-PCR,” said Dr. Pradeep Awate, who heads the epidemiology cell for the state department of public health.
The state obtained 4,629 flyer names and has so far tracked 831.
In another development, the BMC will test 187 passengers who arrived from the UK on December 21, as they would have completed five days in institutional quarantine on Saturday.
“We will start your tests on Saturday. Some of these passengers are from outside Mumbai but from MMR. The BMC will also test them. If their RT-PCR results are negative, they will be allowed to go home, ”said BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani. “Similarly, passengers from Europe, the Middle East and South Africa will be screened as soon as they complete five days in quarantine. This will be done in stages. ”
Mutant coronavirus strain: everything you need to know about the new variant
The new strain of coronavirus
Just as the world was ready to welcome the New Year, information about the identification of a new strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom (UK) has created an air of panic and concern around the world. Even as vaccine development and distribution campaigns are taking place around the world, this new mutant variant of the virus has alarmed experts and government authorities, leading to the imposition of new restrictions in several countries. Reuters photos
All about the new strain
The new COVID variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus has been called VUI – 202012/01 and is said to be 70% more contagious than the existing one. In London and other parts of the UK, the infection has spread like wildfire once again, forcing authorities to declare a complete lockdown with stricter rules and restrictions. Reuters photos
The initial cases
The first confirmed cases of the new strain of the virus were identified in mid-December this year in the UK, after which authorities announced that it was “out of control”. However, experts believe that the virus had been present in the region since September, but could not be detected because “there were no large-scale infections.” Reportedly, around 60 per cent of patients in the UK have been infected with the new variant. Photo: AFP
Countries that have reported cases of the new variant
Infections related to the new COVID-19 strain are currently highly concentrated in the United Kingdom, causing several countries to temporarily suspend the arrival of citizens from the region. Several cases have also been reported in South Africa, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and Italy, while France recently suspected that the new variant could have also entered the western European country. Photo: AFP
Is the new COVID-19 strain of concern?
Health experts in the UK and US said the strain appears to infect more easily than others, but there is no evidence yet that it is more deadly. The strain is also of concern because it has many mutations – nearly two dozen – and some are in the spikey protein that the virus uses to attach itself to and infect cells. That increase is the goal of current vaccines. AP Photo
What do the experts say?
Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, said the strain “is moving fast and is becoming the dominant strain.” “I’m worried about this, no doubt,” but it’s too early to know how important it will ultimately prove, said Dr Ravi Gupta, who studies viruses at the University of Cambridge in England. “It’s okay to get serious,” said Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London. Reuters photos
Are current vaccines effective?
Scientists say there is no evidence that vaccines currently being rolled out in the UK, made by Pfizer and BioNtech, or other COVID-19 injections in development do not protect against this variant. “This is unlikely to have more than a minor effect, if any, on the effectiveness of the vaccine,” said Adam Finn, a vaccine specialist and professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol. According to Jeremy Farrar, director of the London-based research charity Wellcome Trust UK, there is currently no indication that the new strain bypasses treatments and vaccines. Reuters photos
New COVID-19 strain not detected in India: ICMR
The mutant strain of coronavirus has not been seen in samples tested from various parts of India, reported Dr. Samiran Panda, director of the ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute (NARI). Speaking to ANI, Dr Panda said: “We have analyzed samples collected from various parts of the country and we have not seen the mutant strain found in the UK. We should not think that this will definitely come to India.”
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