38 UK variant instances now; pressure remoted, NIV to check vaccines
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The variety of samples detected with the the brand new, extra contagious pressure of the novel coronavirus — the UK “variant under investigation” VUI-202012/01 — is now 38, the federal government mentioned on Monday.
“All these persons (detected with the UK strain of the virus) have been kept in single room isolation in designated Health Care facilities by respective State Governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on,” the Union Health Ministry mentioned in a press release issued on Monday.
This variant of SARS-CoV-2, first detected in Kent, England, has now reached over 30 international locations around the globe. The Ministry mentioned that six labs have thus far detected the UK pressure throughout genome sequencing.
It has been detected in 11 samples on the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi; 10 samples on the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru; eight samples on the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi; 5 samples on the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune; three samples on the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad; and one pattern on the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBG), Kalyani.
Significantly, NIV Pune has now efficiently remoted and cultured the variant, with all signature modifications from the scientific specimens collected from the UK returnees; and the analysis institute will probably be testing vaccines on the remoted virus pressure.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) DG Prof Balram Bhargava had instructed The Indian Express on Sunday that the potential of Bharat Biotech’s vaccine candidate Covaxin to mount resistance in opposition to the brand new mutant pressure was a key issue within the regulator granting it emergency approval.
“The new virus strain creating havoc in the UK is now present in 34 countries. Some of the vaccines are just targeting the spike protein of the virus, and these may not be effective. From that perspective, we are looking at the whole virus vaccine (Covaxin), which potentially may have benefits and this will be in our armamentarium,” Prof Bhargava had mentioned.
The Health Ministry on Monday mentioned the scenario with regard to the UK variant is “under careful watch”, and that “regular advice is being provided to the States for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing & dispatch of samples to INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortium) labs”.
