The genomic surveillance consortium, INSACOG, was formed under the leadership of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi. Moreover, more than 50 samples of returnees from the UK are currently in sequence at designated laboratories.
Five percent of positive Covid-19 cases in all states and UTs will be tested for whole genome sequencing (WGS) as part of the strategy that has been implemented to detect and contain the mutant variant, the Union Ministry for health after a meeting of the National Task Force (NTF) on Covid-19 on this topic.
“It is proposed to continue enhanced genomic surveillance for early detection and isolation of SARS-CoV-2 strains in the UK. However, it is important to understand that, like all other RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 will continue to move “. said the ministry.
The mutant virus can also be contained through measures such as social distancing, hand hygiene, wearing masks and also through an effective vaccine, as and when available, the ministry said.
The NTF meeting was convened on Saturday by ICMR under the co-chair of Dr. Vinod Paul, member of NITI Aayog and Dr. Balram Bhargava, Secretary, Director General of ICMR.
The main objective of the meeting was to discuss the evidence-based changes in the testing, treatment and surveillance strategies for SARS-CoV-2, given the recent reports on the emergence of a new strain of the virus in the UK.
It was emphasized that, since the strain of the UK variant is involved in causing increased transmissibility of the virus, it is essential to identify and contain those infected with this strain in order to prevent its transmission to India. statement.
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The NTF concluded that there was no need to change the existing treatment protocol, given the mutations that occur in the strain.
Moreover, because the ICMR has always supported the use of two or more genetic tests for SARS-CoV-2 testing, it is unlikely to miss infected cases using the current testing strategy, the ministry said.
The NTF recommended that, in addition to existing surveillance strategies, increased genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2, especially for passengers from the United Kingdom, be essential.
The meeting was also attended by Professor Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS; Director General of Health Services (DGHS); Comptroller General of Drugs of India (DCGI); Director, National Center for Disease Control (NCDC); other representatives from the Ministry of Health and ICMR, as well as independent experts in the field.
“The variant strain has 14 non-synonymous mutations (which modify amino acids), 6 synonyms (which do not modify amino acids) and 3 deletions.
“Eight mutations are present in the Spike (S) gene that carries the binding site (receptor binding domain) of ACE2 receptors, which is the virus’s entry point into human respiratory cells,” the ministry said in a statement.
The NTF deliberated in detail on issues related to the current national treatment protocol, testing strategy and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance of the UK variant strain.
NTF was of the opinion that it will also be essential to perform genome sequencing in samples where there is an abandonment of the S gene in the laboratory diagnosis, proven cases of reinfections, etc. Routine genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 from the representative samples in all samples must be a continuous and well-planned activity, according to the statement.
Designated laboratories in which UK returnee trials are currently under sequencing include -NCDC, Delhi; CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi; CSIR- Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad and DBT- Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneshwar.
It is also done at DBT-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani; DBT-InStem-National Center for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru; National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS), Bengaluru and National Institute of Virology, Pune.
The NCDC reported that the Center had taken note of the reports of the mutant variant and the response of other countries to these reports.
The situation is being proactively monitored.
A strategy has been implemented whereby all passengers arriving from the UK between 21 and 23 December have been tested at airports and only after the PCR test result is available will negative passengers be allowed to leave the airports.
All passengers tested positive are subjected to institutional isolation and their samples sent for whole genome sequencing (WGS)
Only after the confirmation of the non-mutant variant after the WGS result, the positive cases are allowed to leave the institutional isolation according to the existing management protocol.
All positive case contacts are also quarantined and tested according to ICMR guidelines.
In addition, the list of all arrivals from the UK in the last 28 days has been shared by the Immigration Office with the states concerned.
All passengers arriving from the UK between November 25 and December 20, 2020 are tracked by IDSP State Surveillance Units (SSUs) and District Surveillance Units (DSUs).
Samples of all positive cases are sent to WGS and the aim is to improve the tracking of the contacts of these positive cases, and these contacts are also quarantined.