NAGPUR: The second wave of Covid-19 is now well underway in almost all parts of the country. While it’s still to come ‘officially’ from Indian authorities, global attention is focusing on a
new variant — B.1.617 — that appears significantly more infectious in India. There is a theory that this variant emerged in
Amravati, and caused the huge surge in cases in nearby districts in February.
International researchers believe that this variant is typically of
Indian origin. As a result, researchers and media houses from across the globe are now focusing on Vidarbha; and some of them even visited Nagpur while tracing the new ‘Indian variant’.
“It’s different than the UK, or Africa or Brazil variant, which have been discussed at the start of this wave,” said infectious disease specialist Dr Nitin Shinde, who has been receiving inquiries from many international researchers and journalists about the second wave in India.
“Many countries have imposed travel ban to India. UK has added India into ‘red list’ of restricted destination. This is because specific variant of the virus – B.1.617 – is becoming increasingly common,” said Dr Shinde. He believes the Amravati surge was also due to this variant, though it needs to be confirmed with more research.
As per the data shared by Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GSAID), B.1.617 was first found in samples collected in December 2020 in India. They have data of genome sequencing of Indian samples up to April 3, 2021. Until then, this variant was visible in 29% of the samples in India. According to doctors, it is responsible for the second wave and is now spreading across the country.
GSAID is recognized for its importance to global health by G20 health ministers. In 2020, WHO called this data-science initiative ‘a game changer’ in Covid-19.
Dr Atul Gawande, who hails from Umarkhed in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha, and is currently a member of Covid-19 control advisory team of US President
Joe Biden, has also expressed his concerns about this variant while calling it as ‘extremely frightening’. “I am seeing this variant go through entire households of my family in India. Whether it is more lethal, and whether vaccines work well against it, remains unclear,” he said.
As noted by Dr Gawande, it has been observed especially in Vidarbha that this variant is infecting entire families, unlike its predecessors in September 2020 wave. This means, the virus is significantly more infectious. But whether it is lethal or not is still to be studied. At present, the variant is “under investigation”. It is still not designated a ‘variant of concern’ but scientists have recognized it as ‘variant of interest’.
According to an initial study by Virology researcher Grace Roberts from Queen’s University, Belfast, this variant is estimated to be around 20% more transmissible than the earlier form of the coronavirus circulating during the first wave.
However, officials in the ministry of health said that the rise in cases is not linked to the variant, as B.1.617 hasn’t been detected in high enough quantities to determine whether it is directly responsible. However, experts think that this may be due to lack of data, and many have stressed the importance of increasing virus sequencing to get a better picture.
The Indian Variant
Covid-19 cases have risen sharply in India as new variant called B.1.617 has emerged
B.1.617 is becoming increasingly common in India’s cases, detected in second wave
Amravati, and West Vidarbha, followed by Nagpur are identified as epicentre of B.1.617
Due to this, global researchers have focused their attention on Vidarbha
B.1.617 variant is more contagious, unlocks our cells, and skips pre-existing antibodies