BENGALURU: As pointed out by several virologists, the discovery of Omicron in a Bengalurean with no travel history shows that the variant could already have been in circulation in the country and was detected only now.
According to a senior official from the health department, the 46-year-old anaesthetist had attended a two-day cardiology conference in the city, and on the very next day, he tested positive.
“It’s highly unlikely that this person's primary source of the infection is from someone in the conference. One can’t show symptoms in just one day after exposure,” the official stated.
Meanwhile, Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dr CN Manjunath said, "Mutations happen in many countries but it is not necessary it has to be imported always. The new variant could only have been picked up here now but present in the community much earlier."
According to him, the state has good genome sequencing labs and also the committee’s guidelines were that any sample that has a high viral load, which is a cycle threshold (CT) value of less than 15, has to be sent for sequencing. He says the variant was picked up due to that protocol.
Interestingly, Dr. Gagagandeep Kang, a renowned virologist, had earlier told TNIE that it is very likely that Omicron is already here in India even though there had been no official confirmation when she said this.
Dr. K Sudhakar, Karnataka's health minister, warned people not to forget to wear masks and asked them to ensure they are double vaccinated.
He said, “The presence of the variant in a localite with no travel history is concerning. Though people should not panic, they should ensure they follow COVID appropriate behaviors."
Insisting on the use of S-gene dropout PCR tests, Dr US Vishal Rao, member of State’s Genomic Surveillance committee for Covid-19, said, "WHO guidelines state that diagnostic test kits with two confirmatory gene targets, with at least one being the 'S' gene, should be used for early detection of the Omicron variant. This may lead to efficient detection of the Omicron variant of Covid. However, samples testing positive with S gene dropout have to be sent for genomic sequencing for confirmation of the Omicron variant. This can lead to faster detection."