NEW DELHI (AP) – A new and potentially problematic variant of the coronavirus has been detected in India, as have other variants first detected in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, health officials said on Wednesday.
Officials and experts from the Ministry of Health, however, have warned against linking the variants to a continuing increase in new infections in India.
Cases in India had been plummeting since September and life was returning to normal. But cases began to rise last month and more than 47,000 new infections were detected in the past 24 hours, along with 275 deaths – the highest number of deaths in a day in more than four months.
The virus mutated during the pandemic. Most mutations are trivial, but scientists are investigating which ones can make the virus spread more easily or make people sick.
The three variants detected for the first time in South Africa, Great Britain and Brazil are considered to be the most worrying and have been designated as “worrying variants”. The three variants have been found in 7% of the nearly 11,000 samples sequenced by India since December 30. The most widespread of these was the most contagious variant detected in the UK last year.
The new variant found in India has two mutations in the spiny protein that the virus uses to attach itself to cells, said Dr. Rakesh Mishra, director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, one of 10 research institutes that sequence the virus.
He added that these genetic adjustments may be a concern, as they may help the virus to spread more easily and escape the immune system, but he warned against the link with the outbreak.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that the variant was found in 15% -20% of the sequenced samples from the state of Maharashtra. The state, which is home to the financial capital of India, was hardest hit by the recent increase and accounts for more than 60% of all active cases in India.
In the city of Nagpur in Maharashtra, infections caused by this new variant have occurred in parts of the city that have so far been least affected, said Dr. Sujeet Singh, head of the National Center for Disease Control in New Delhi.
“The susceptible population group … was substantially large,” added Singh.
Meanwhile, health officials admitted that they were concerned about the upcoming festivals, many of which mark the advent of spring. The Indian government has written to states to consider imposing restrictions, but many celebrities have challenged distance and virus protocols.
This laxity and slow release of the vaccine are the most worrisome, said Vineeta Bal, of the National Institute of Immunology in India. She said that, unlike last year, the virus was spreading to wealthier neighborhoods, infecting families that had previously managed to stay protected in their homes. Now, people are less fearful and are letting their guard down. Masks are being used, “but masks protect people’s beards, not their nose,” she said.
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