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The “double mutant” virus that scientists had flagged last month as having a bearing on the spread of the pandemic in India, has a formal scientific classification: B.1.617.
Highlights
- The variant is common in India — how much in every State is unclear though — and has a couple of defining mutations, E484Q and L425R, that enable it to become more infectious and evade antibodies.
- These mutations have individually been found in several other coronavirus variants, the presence of both mutations together were first found in some coronavirus genomes from India.
- Certain variants of the coronavirus, for instance, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 — have been termed the “United Kingdom” and “South Africa” variant, respectively, because they have mutations associated with large spikes in these countries or reduce the efficacy of vaccines and are termed “variants of concern (VOC)”.
- Patients are now exhibiting unusual symptoms of the virus, including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and even developing a cold.
- The absence of typical symptoms, such as that of a fever and a cough is now making doctors caution patients to get tested even if they do not show classic signs.
- With the virus changing its course and launching a much-more lethal attack on the body, the severity of infections is also being witnessed right now.
Source: The Hindu
