NOIDA: One of the two residents, who had returned from the UK recently and were admitted to
Government Institute of Medical Sciences (
GIMS) after testing
Covid-19 positive, was on Wednesday detected with the UK variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The two
patients were admitted to GIMS on Saturday.The Noida woman is the second person from the state to have tested positive for the new virus strain. A day earlier, a two-year-old, who had returned from London along with her parents on December 14, was found positive for the new mutant Covid-19 strain.
The sample of the woman, (33) who had returned on December 17, was sent to CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (
IGIB), Delhi, where genome sequencing detected the mutated virus variant.
However, the
RT-PCR samples of her three primary contacts have tested negative and her 28 secondary contacts are being tested as a precautionary measure.
The new strain has more transmissibility or in simple terms, can enter the body more easily and has the tendency to infect younger adults as noticed in the UK.
GB Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said, “The
UK strain of the virus is confirmed in one of the two patients currently admitted at GIMS. They had recently returned from the UK and tested Covid-19 positive. The other patient tested negative for new strain. We have tested the patient’s three primary contacts and they were all found to be negative. Even then, we have initiated testing of her 28 secondary contacts as a precautionary measure.” The patient is, however, stable and is undergoing treatment with no complications, he added.
The district had received a list of total 424 travellers of which sampling had to be done for 260. While tests were conducted on 152, the remaining 108 are from other districts and have been cross notified.
Dr Vivek Gupta, molecular pathologist (MD, PhD) and in-charge molecular diagnostics and research laboratory, GIMS, said that the new UK variant of the virus has a very transmissible nature. “The new strain has 70% more transmissibility and can enter the body more easily. The mutation is commonly called 501Y in SARS-CoV-2 virus. It can be detected by whole genome sequencing,” said Dr Gupta.
Dr Gupta added that the said virus variant is known to affect younger people. “It mostly affects the young population with no underlying health conditions. Hence, the patient may appear to be asymptomatic and can even be RT-PCR negative in some instances. Therefore, all those who returned from the UK and tested RT-PCR negative should opt for a whole genome sequencing, especially, if they have any clinical symptoms,” he said.