Indian Covid-19 variant found in 44 countries, Britain has most cases: WHO

Corona virus

WHO has said that the Indian variant of Covid-19 behind the acceleration of India’s explosive outbreak has been found in 44 other countries all over the world.

Corona virus

The Indian Covid-19 variant is found in 44 countries, the UK having the most cases: WHO

The WHO has stated that behind the acceleration of India’s explosive outbreak, the Indian version of the Covid-19 has been found in 44 other countries around the world.

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that a variant of Covid-19 has been found in dozens of countries around the world behind the acceleration of India’s explosive outbreak.

The United Nations health agency said that the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19, first found in India in October, was uploaded to an open-access database “from 44 countries in all six WHO regions” in more than 4,500 samples. it was done.

“And the WHO has received custody reports from five additional countries,” it said in its weekly epidemiological update on the epidemic.

Outside India, it was said that Britain reported the highest number of covid cases.

Earlier this week, WHO announced B.1.617 – which counts three different subdivisions as “a type of concern” with slightly different mutations and features.

It was therefore added to the list of three other variants of the Covid-19 – the first in Britain, Brazil and South Africa.

The variants are seen as more dangerous than the original version of the virus because they are either more transmitted, lethal or are capable of receiving some previous vaccine protection.

The WHO reported on Wednesday that B.1.617 was added to the list because it appears to be more easily transmitted than the original virus, pointing to a “rapid increase in circulation in many countries”.

The WHO also pointed to “preliminary evidence” that the variant monoclonal antibody was more resistant to treatment with bamlenivimb, and also highlighted early laboratory studies indicating “limited reductions in antibody reduction”.

However, it was emphasized that “real-world effects” may be “limited” on the effectiveness of vaccines against variants, for example.

The WHO stated that the spread of B.1.617, along with other communicable variants, is one of several factors fueling India’s dramatic surge in new cases and deaths.

India – a country of 1.3 billion people – is the second-most infected in the world after the United States with about 23 million Covid-19 cases, and is currently registering more than 300,000 new cases and close to 4,000 deaths each day. She has been

The new upsurge in cases has devastated major cities including the capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, leading hospitals to breaking points and acute shortage of oxygen and beds.

“WHO found that there were a number of potential contributing factors to the resurgence and acceleration of Covid-19 transmission in India, including potentially increased permeability with increased ratios in cases of SARS-COV-2 variants,” it said. .

This indicated “many religious and political mass gatherings that increased the social mix; and, reduced public health and adherence to social measures”.

“The exact contribution of each of these factors to the increasing broadcasting in India is not well understood.”

The WHO asserted that so far, only 0.1 percent of positive Kovid tests in India had been genetically sequenced and uploaded to the GISAID database to identify the variation in question.

As of the end of April, B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 accounted for 21 and seven percent respectively of all the indexed samples in India.

Additionally, other more infectious versions are also spreading in the country, including B.1.1.7, which was first found in Britain.