Double Mutant Coronavirus Variant Detected In India

Mutation In COVID-19 Could Possibly Be the Cause of Rapid Surge In Transmission And Arte of Infectivity

A new coronavirus variant has been detected in the South Asian country of India, which is said to be a double mutant and has been diagnosed in multiple patients in the country. The concerned officials are currently checking to see if this newly sampled double mutant variant could be more infectious to people or would probably be less affected by the viable coronavirus vaccines or not, as it is developed by the combination of two already mutated strains of the pathogen.

Rising active cases of coronavirus

Around 10,787 samples have been collected from 18 states around India, which have reported more than 771 cases infected with known variants of the coronavirus viral pathogen, while 736 of the United Kingdom, 34 of the South Africa, and one of the Brazilian. It has been confirmed that the double mutant variant of COVID-19 infection has not been linked to causing a surge in the number of active cases throughout the country.

About 47,262 new active cases have been reported in India, along with 275 mortalities in a single day on Wednesday, which is said to be the sharpest rise in the daily reported amount.

The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), which is an organization comprising 10 of the national genetic laboratories under the health ministry of India, has conducted genomic sequencing on the latest double mutant variant samples. Genomic sequencing is actually a process that is used to create an entire map of the genetic coding of a living organism, and in the case of COVID-19, the coding of a virus for testing purposes.

The working of the genetic code of any virus is similar to that of an instruction manual. The process of mutation is very common in viruses, and most of the mutation which occurs is usually insignificant and harmless as it does not change the virus’s ability of transmission or cause any critical infection in the host body.

Although there are some types of mutation, which have been observed in the coronavirus strains found in the United Kingdom and South Africa, which have affected that virus and made it more infectious, while in some cases, more deadly.

Mutation of COVID-19 in India

According to the virologist Shahid Jameel, the double mutation in certain key areas of the coronavirus’s spike proteins could increase its potential risk factors and could possibly allow the viral pathogen to escape from the body’s immune system. The spike protein of coronavirus is the part that typically enters into the human cells and causes infection.

The government of India has given a statement reporting that a complete analysis has been formed regarding the samples which have been collected from the state of western Maharashtra have shown that there has been an increase in the number of samples with mutations of L452R and E484Q in the population, as compared to the data collected in the month of December last year.

This surge in the double mutant variant confers escape from the immunological system of the body and increases the infectivity of the virus.

It is possible that there could be a development of a separate lineage in India if the E484Q and L452R mutated viruses combine together.

The government of India has denied all claims that the daily surge in the number of active cases of coronavirus has a link to the double mutant variant of the COVID-19 infection.

The health ministry of India has given a statement saying that although there have been multiple cases reported with the double mutant variant in India, they are not yet detected in the sufficient amount which is required to establish a direct link and explain the rising number of active cases of COVID-19 infection throughout the country.

There have been some recent reports of double mutant coronavirus variants after the experts in the country had advised the government to set up efforts for genome sequencing.

The Indian government is currently trying to continuously monitor the situation while trying to make sure that the variants which are currently being transmitted around the country are not critically concerning in the general population. If it is not happening now, it is possible that it might occur in the future, due to which they have to collect the required data to time along with an early intervention strategy.

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