BHUBANESWAR: The highly infectious double mutant B.1.617 strain of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered the ferocious second wave in Odisha where around 1.8 lakh cases and 239 deaths have been recorded in last one month.
Around 50 per cent (pc) of the samples sequenced in the State in April have been found to harbour new mutations of B.1.617.
Of the 34 samples collected from different districts between April 2 and 28, as many as 17 were found to have two lineages of the B.1.617 variant that is fast expanding its footprint across the county.
Eight samples carried B.1.617.2, which was present in at least 82 pc samples sequenced in West Bengal recently, and nine samples carried B.1.617.1. The B.1.617 has three lineages so far of which two have been found in the State.
Not a single sample was, however, found with the UK variant B.1.1.7 or the triple-mutant B.1.618 that was considered to be more prevalent in West Bengal.
“While the UK variant is declining in proportion, the double mutant B.1.617 could be triggering the surge in cases and deaths during the deadly second wave. The spike in infections seen over the last one month shows a correlation with the rise in the B1.617 lineage of SARS CoV-2,” said a researcher associated with Covid-19 genome sequencing.
“The double mutant is spread across the State though the B.1.617.2 lineage has been mostly found in samples from Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur districts. Clinical analysis suggests the variant spreads faster and is deadlier,” the researcher added.
As per data released by Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), around 70 variants of concern (VOC) and variants under investigation (VUI) have been detected in Odisha between December and April. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has flagged B.1.1.7 (UK variant) and B.1.315 (South Africa variant) as VOC and B.1.617 (double mutant, initially found in Maharashtra) as VUI.
Even as the N440K strain from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was found in five samples in Odisha in December last year, the State government put restrictions on the entry of travellers from both the states only recently after a study claimed that the strain had higher transmissibility.
“The entry of returnees could have been monitored since then. We share information on the status of VOCs and new mutants from time to time for stringent public health interventions. It is the government to take the final call,” said an official of INSACOG.
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