New 'double mutant' strain of Covid-19 detected in India: Health Ministry

A new double mutant strain of coronavirus has been found in India that causes increased infectivity amid grave concerns over the surge in cases in Maharashtra and Punjab, health ministry officials said on Wednesday.

While the government said the surge was not linked to any of the mutations according to available data, the proportion of such cases had increased in Maharashtra, where more than 200 cases were detected with the double mutant strain. Delhi had nine such samples.

“There are many reasons for a surge and one of them is a large pool of susceptible cases. Wherever this pool is big and they lower their guard then they will catch the infection if they encounter the virus, mutant or otherwise,” said Sujeet Kumar Singh, director, National Centre for Disease Control.

The double mutant strain is a combination of two variants – E484Q and L452R — both of which have been present in India for the past few months separately.

The double mutation causes immune escape, where the virus slips past the body’s immune defences and increases infectivity. “These mutations have been found in about 15-20 per cent of samples and do not match any previously catalogued variants of concern,” the health ministry said.

This new strain was identified through genome sequencing by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), a group of 10 national laboratories established by the health ministry in December to study genetic mutations.

“Currently, the SARS-CoV-2 variants detected in the community have been prevalent since the last 6-8 months. Various states that are witnessing surges in cases have revealed different mutation profiles, post-sequencing,” said Singh. He also said that no linkage has been seen with surge in Covid-19 cases due to foreign travellers.

The government has stressed that both the vaccines are effective against the mutation. “It is well established that the vaccines available are effective against UK and Brazil variants. The research against the South African variant is ongoing,” said Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research.

There are three variants of concern (VOCs) in India — the UK, Brazilian and South African strains. These have been found in 18 states.

Out of 10,787 positive samples shared by states, 771 VOCs were detected by the genomics consortium. These include 736 samples positive for viruses of the UK lineage. Thirty-four samples were found positive for the South African strain and one was the Brazil variant.

“Though VOCs and a new double mutant variant have been found in India, these have not been detected in numbers sufficient to either establish direct relationship or explain the rapid increase in cases in some states. Genomic sequencing and epidemiological studies are continuing to further analyse the situation,” a health ministry statement said.

The revelation came on a day when India recorded 47,262 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest single-day rise recorded in 132 days. There were 275 new fatalities, the highest in around 83 days, the health ministry said.