Some 10, 787 samples are collected from 18 Indian states showed that 771 cases are known variants – 736 of the UK, 34 of South Africa, and 1 of Brazil. However, the officials said that these double mutant are not linked-up to the spike of Coronavirus in India.
On Wednesday, India reported 47, 000+ Covid-19 fresh cases and 275 deaths which is the sharpest rise in 2021. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) performed genomic sequencing on the samples collected. In general, genomic sequencing is a testing process that maps the whole genetic code of an organism.
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Understand the “Double Mutant” Covid-19 Variant
Just like other viruses, Covid-19 keeps on changing in small ways when it transfers from person to person. A large part of these mutations is insignificant and does not change in the way the virus generally do.
Also, some mutations trigger keeps on changing in the spike of protein which virus uses to clasp on to and enter human cells. Such variants might be more infectious and can cause severe disease or evade vaccines in some situations. Indian genome scientists have found a so-called “double variant” of the coronavirus.
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The Indian Government said that samples collected from Maharashtra display “an increase in the fraction of samples with the E484Q and L452R mutations” as compared to December 2020.
Important Points You Should Know
- The Covid-19 double mutant variant is examined from the samples collected from the Western State of Maharashtra.
- The mutant variant takes place in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2. This virus uses its spike proteins to the fastener to human cells and helps in fostering rapidly.
- The double mutant Covid variant is a huge concern. The Union health ministry also said that “these mutations deliberate immune emission and increase infectivity” to the virus.
- However, it not yet confirmed that such mutations can be a shield from the known medication or vaccines approved in India.
- Few reports have found that these mutations are quite similar to the one reported from the South African and Brazilian variants last year.
For more details, stay tuned with us!
