MUMBAI: Almost 50% of the samples that tested positive for Covid-19 in the state and were sent from some districts for genome sequencing have the recently identified and highly infectious Indian variant of SARS-CoV-2 called B.1.617.
Most of these samples come from Vidarbha and no samples sent from the city have so far shown variant B.1.617, said scientists involved in INSACOG, a group of 10 national laboratories that perform complete genomic sequencing of samples.
The Ministry of Health has not yet provided specific details on the entire genome sequencing project. In a communication on Friday, it was said that since Thursday, 13,614 whole genome sequencing samples have been processed at the 10 INSACOG laboratories. “Of these, 1,189 samples were tested positive for SARS COV-2 in India. This includes 1,109 samples with UK variants; 79 samples with the South African version and one sample with the Brazilian version ”, it is shown in the ministry’s communiqué.
Some information on the results of the tests sent from the state was given on Saturday to the Minister of State for Health Rajesh Tope in a virtual meeting with Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Minister of Health of the Union.
Tope said of the 1,100 samples sent so far, 500 were examined.
The state government is looking for a detailed report on the Indian version
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday that after finding out that 50% of Covid-19-positive samples in the state have the highly infectious Indian variant of SARS-CoV-2 called B.1.617, he requested a detailed report from to the Center on it. He said he was told it would only be available at the end of the investigation.
The concern in the state – and in the rest of the world, as the Indian version has been isolated in several samples from the UK and the US – is the high transmissibility of the variant.
“Because the new variant is said to be extremely infectious, we looked for a report and revised the guidelines, if any, from the center,” Tope said. “The center said a detailed report will only be made available at the end of the research.”
The state director of health services, Dr. Archana Patil, said he knows where the samples were taken from. “Changes are observed in some samples, but there is no comment on whether this explains the increase,” Patil said.
B.1.617 was first identified by scientists at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in Delhi as part of the INSACOG project. They noticed two mutations, L452R and E484K, which are known to have the ability to get rid of antibodies.
Articles written by experts around the world mentioned that the Indian version could be “at least partially” leading the current wave.
IGIB Director Dr. Anurag Agrawal said nearly 15,000 Covid-19-positive samples have been studied since December. “Our team of scientists has identified the variant that has since been named B.1.617. In general, it is present in a small percentage of samples, but its presence has increased in recent weeks, “said Dr. Agrawal.
Scientists from other countries had more details. “The new strain has been detected in at least five Indian states, including Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab, which have helped increase the number of cases in the country, in addition to B.1.1.7 (UK), B.1.351 (South Africa). ) and P.1 (Brazil), variants that also circulate in (India), ”said William A. Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, in a Forbes article.
He wrote that, although the extent to which the strain has spread is not known, of the 2,844 sequences presented in the GISAID database in India as of March 1, 162 sequences (approximately 6%) were classified as B.1.617. “This percentage is likely to increase,” he said.
Most of these samples come from Vidarbha and no samples sent from the city have so far shown variant B.1.617, said scientists involved in INSACOG, a group of 10 national laboratories that perform complete genomic sequencing of samples.
The Ministry of Health has not yet provided specific details on the entire genome sequencing project. In a communication on Friday, it was said that since Thursday, 13,614 whole genome sequencing samples have been processed at the 10 INSACOG laboratories. “Of these, 1,189 samples were tested positive for SARS COV-2 in India. This includes 1,109 samples with UK variants; 79 samples with the South African version and one sample with the Brazilian version ”, it is shown in the ministry’s communiqué.
Some information on the results of the tests sent from the state was given on Saturday to the Minister of State for Health Rajesh Tope in a virtual meeting with Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Minister of Health of the Union.
Tope said of the 1,100 samples sent so far, 500 were examined.
The state government is looking for a detailed report on the Indian version
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday that after finding out that 50% of Covid-19-positive samples in the state have the highly infectious Indian variant of SARS-CoV-2 called B.1.617, he requested a detailed report from to the Center on it. He said he was told it would only be available at the end of the investigation.
The concern in the state – and in the rest of the world, as the Indian version has been isolated in several samples from the UK and the US – is the high transmissibility of the variant.
“Because the new variant is said to be extremely infectious, we looked for a report and revised the guidelines, if any, from the center,” Tope said. “The center said a detailed report will only be made available at the end of the research.”
The state director of health services, Dr. Archana Patil, said he knows where the samples were taken from. “Changes are observed in some samples, but there is no comment on whether this explains the increase,” Patil said.
B.1.617 was first identified by scientists at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in Delhi as part of the INSACOG project. They noticed two mutations, L452R and E484K, which are known to have the ability to get rid of antibodies.
Articles written by experts around the world mentioned that the Indian version could be “at least partially” leading the current wave.
IGIB Director Dr. Anurag Agrawal said nearly 15,000 Covid-19-positive samples have been studied since December. “Our team of scientists has identified the variant that has since been named B.1.617. In general, it is present in a small percentage of samples, but its presence has increased in recent weeks, “said Dr. Agrawal.
Scientists from other countries had more details. “The new strain has been detected in at least five Indian states, including Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab, which have helped increase the number of cases in the country, in addition to B.1.1.7 (UK), B.1.351 (South Africa). ) and P.1 (Brazil), variants that also circulate in (India), ”said William A. Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, in a Forbes article.
He wrote that, although the extent to which the strain has spread is not known, of the 2,844 sequences presented in the GISAID database in India as of March 1, 162 sequences (approximately 6%) were classified as B.1.617. “This percentage is likely to increase,” he said.