UK variant of COVID-19 prevalent in Hyderabad, indicates study
HYDERABAD: Around 13 per cent of 93 COVID-19 cases detected by a private lab in Hyderabad were found to have been caused by the UK variant of the novel-coronavirus, as per a pre-print research paper. The study also reported another sample consisting of the E484K mutation of the virus, which is characteristic of the South African variant of COVID-19.
The researchers had tested 93 samples that were positive for COVID-19 in the month of February at a private lab in Hyderabad, and had found that 12 of them were caused by the UK variant, which has the N501Y mutation.
One of the samples detected the E484K mutation, which is also known as an escape mutation, as it helps the virus evade antibodies in the host. The pre-print paper mentioned that out of the 12 people who tested positive for the UK variant, seven had no recent travel history. They had not come in contact with someone who had just travelled either.
Only four of them had history of foreign travel; they had returned from Dubai four days before the date of sample collection. Meanwhile, one of them had returned a day before sample collection from Maharashtra. The lone sample containing the E484K mutation of the virus tested negative for the UK variant.
While NITI Aayog Member (Health) VK Paul had said last month that the virus variants with N440K and E484K mutations were detected in Maharashtra, Kerala and Telangana, it was not clear which ones were reported in which State.
Later, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) confirmed the presence of the virus with N440K mutation in Telangana. Now, with the recent research, the presence of E484K mutation in the State has also been confirmed.
The pre-print research paper, 'Detection of SARS-CoV-2 N501Y mutation by RT-PCR to identify the UK and the South African strains in the population of South Indian state of Telangana', is available on medrxiv. com.
Primer-probe mix used
The tests used to detect the virus variants were performed using a primer-probe mix developed by the researchers. The study has four authors, with the corresponding author affiliated to Tenet Diagnostics, Banjara Hills, and another author from AIG Hospitals