BHUBANESWAR: Amid apprehensions of an early onset of Covid-19 third wave, Odisha has reported its first case of Delta Plus variant of SARS-CoV2. The detection of the new mutant in the State was disclosed by the National Centre for Disease Control at New Delhi on Friday.
The sample of a 62-year-old man from Deogarh district, who had tested positive in April, has been found infected with the Delta Plus variant (B.1.617.2.1), also dubbed as AY.1. Odisha is among the 10 states and one UT where 48 cases of the variant have been detected so far.
Sources said, the Deogarh man’s sample was tested as a contact of a positive case. He had not taken the vaccine then and recovered in due course of time. His contact tracing was done but no one tested positive.
“Since the sample of the man, who transmitted the infection to the 62-year-old, has not been sequenced, we cannot say this variant has come from him.
The variant may not have been transmitted from someone, it could have mutated here. The detection of Delta Plus variant in the country has been sporadic so far with no evidence of high transmissibility. We have conducted sequencing of over 700 samples since May first week and none contain the new variant,” said ILS Director Dr Ajay Parida.