Karnataka's first case of Delta Plus Covid variant reported in this district
Premium- As many as 40 cases of the new variant have so far been detected in the country
- Most of the infections were from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu
The first case of the new Delta Plus variant of coronavirus in Karnataka has been detected in Mysuru district, said state health minister K Sudhakar on Wednesday.
The minister that the patient continues to be asymptomatic and none of his contacts have tested positive as well.
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"In Mysuru, one patient is infected with Delta Plus variant, whom we have isolated but he is asymptomatic and none of his primary and secondary contacts has the disease. That is a good sign," Sudhakar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He further informed that the state government is carefully monitoring the emergence of the new variants and has decided to set up six genome sequencing labs in the state.
"Wherever we have a suspicion, we are doing genomic sequencing. We are doing random checks of 5% of the total samples checked," Sudhakar said.
According to Sudhakar, Karnataka is conducting about 1.5 lakh to two lakh Covid-19 tests per day. He said the government is sending vaccines to all the districts wherever there is suspicion of the Delta Plus variant being found.
On the preparedness to deal with the third Covid wave, which is believed to affect children, Sudhakar said preparations are afoot to set up paediatric wards with ICU and appoint doctors and nurses within 45 days in all the districts.
Cases across India
As many as 40 cases of the new variant have so far been detected in the country, news agency ANI reported quoting government sources.
The sources said that most of the infections were from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu and that the strain is still a "variant of interest".
However, according to the Union health ministry, INSACOG has informed that the Delta Plus variant is currently a "Variant of Concern (VOC)" and has characteristics of increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells and potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.
Based on the recent findings of INSACOG, the ministry has alerted and advised Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh to take up immediate containment measures in the districts and clusters where patients infected by the mutant strain are being seen.
The ‘delta plus’ variant traces its lineage to the delta (B.1.617.2) variant which was first observed in India. The new variant was formed after a K417N mutation on the spike protein gene, which allows the virus to escape the immune system of a person more efficiently.
The K417N mutation was also seen in the beta variant (B.1.351), first seen in South Africa, which has proven to be particularly effective in evading immune response.
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