Indian variant found in 50% samples sent for genome survey in Maharashtra | India News

MUMBAI: Almost 50% of the samples that tested positive for Covid-19 recently and were sent 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.
Union Ministry of Health has not yet given specific details about the entire genome sequencing project. In a communication on Friday, it was said that starting Thursday, 13,614 whole genome sequencing samples were processed at the 10 INSACOG laboratories.
“Of these, 1,189 samples were tested positive for SARS COV-2 in India. These include 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 about the results of the tests sent from the state was given to the Minister of State for Health Rajesh Tope at a virtual meeting with Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Saturday.
Tope said that of the 1,100 samples submitted so far, 500 samples were examined. “We were looking for a detailed report from the central government, but we were told that it would only be available at the end of the investigation,” he said.
The main concern in the state – and in the rest of the world, also because the Indian version has already 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 sought a report from the center and, if any, revised guidelines,” Tope said, adding that the center said a detailed report would be available only at the end. research. .
State Director of Health Services Dr. Archana Patil he said he knew where the evidence in question had been collected. “In some samples, changes are observed, but there is no comment as to whether this explains the increase. Maharashtra“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 across the country. 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 contributed to the increase in the number of cases in the country, in addition to variants B.1.1.7 (UK), B.1.351 (South Africa) and P.1 (Brazil) which are also circulating (in) India “, said William A. Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, in an article in Forbes.
He wrote that, although the extent to which the strain has spread is not known, of the 2,844 sequences submitted to the GISAID database in India as of March 1, 162 sequences were classified as B.1.617, or about 6%. “This percentage is likely to increase,” he said.

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