Covid-19: 771 new double mutant variants found across country, increased concern

A total of 771 new 'double mutant variants' of the corona virus have been found in India. A total of 771 variants have been found in 10,787 samples from 18 states of the country.

Of these, 736 are from Britain, 34 from South Africa and one is Brazilian variant.

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Director of the National Center for Disease Control, Sujit Kumar said that in states where infection cases have increased, a different mutation profile has been detected.

This mutation of the virus has been found in about 15 to 20 percent of the samples, whereas it does not match the earlier varieties that produce anxiety.

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However, it has been reported that this new type of virus escapes the body's immune system and increases infectiousness.

This report has featured prominently in the English newspaper Times of India .

The double mutations — which confer immune escape (ability to evade antibodies) and increased infectivity — have been found in about 15-20% of samples and do not match any previously catalogued variants.

“We’ve seen this double mutant E484Q and L452R. This is the double mutant that has been observed in 206 samples in Maharashtra and then in a varied number in Delhi (nine samples) and so on,” Singh said, adding, “In Nagpur, we have found a substantial number of this, around 20%. But correlating the surge with this 20% is not possible.”

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In 10,787 positive samples shared by states and UTs so far, 771 variants of concern have been detected. These include 736 samples positive for viruses of the UK lineage, 34 for those of the South African lineage, and one of Brazilian origin.

In samples from Maharashtra, there has been an increase in the fraction of samples with the E484Q and L452R mutations compared to December 2020.

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