The World Health Organisation recently made another discovery regarding the double variant of Covid 19. The double mutant Covid 19 variant which is identified as B1617 was first detected in India. However, it has now spread to at least 17 other countries.
GISAID Reports 1200 Sequences of Double Mutant Covid 19 Variant
As per the data released by the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), the B1617 variant has been detected in over 1200 sequences from at least 17 countries. The global health agency said that as per their weekly epidemiological update, most of the cases were reported from India, UK, the US, and Singapore.
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GISAID is a German non-profit organization that was launched in 2016 to keep the world updated about flu genomes.
At the same time, the B1617 variant has been noted as a “variant of interest” and not the “variant of concern” by the WHO for now. However, the other variants like the British, South African and Brazilian variants of Covid 19 were classified as “variants of concern”.
B1617 Variant Is Partially Responsible For The Massive Spread of Covid 19 In India
The B1617 variant was first detected in India on December 1, 2020. Reports suggest that it contains mutations from two different virus variants; E484Q and L452R. It is also partially held responsible for the second wave of the deadly coronavirus across the nation.
As per the latest reports, more than 3 lakh cases of Covid 19 were reported in the country for the 7th consecutive day on Wednesday. India reported a total of 3,60,960 cases and 3293 deaths in the past 24 hours.
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The WHO recently updated that last week almost 5.7 million new cases were reported and they have surpassed the record from the past peaks. The cases have been increasing at an alarming rate from the past nine months now. The report further noted that India accounts for 38 percent of the global cases.
