What we know about the B.1.617 variant as the coronavirus dominates South Asia

India recorded the world’s fastest increase in coronavirus infection this month. The political and financial capitals of New Delhi and Mumbai are short of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines.

Scientists are investigating whether the cause of the unexpected surge is due to a variant of the coronavirus that was first detected in India. A variant named B.1.617 has been reported in at least 26 countries and raises global concerns. The basics are as follows:

What is the B.1.617 variant?

The B.1.617 variant contains two important mutations in the outer “spike” portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, says senior Indian virologist Shahid Jamesel.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the predominant strain of B.1.617 was first identified in India last December, although an earlier version was discovered in October 2020.

The UN agency and the United Kingdom have classified it as a “variant of concern”, along with the first detected variants in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa. Some early studies have shown that Indian varieties spread more easily.

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Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead at Covid-19, said on May 10 that “some preliminary studies have shown improved transmission rates” for more information on B.1.617. I added that it is necessary. A variant to understand how much of it is circulating.

British health officials said on May 7 that it could spread faster than the original version of the virus and could spread as quickly as the so-called “Kent” variant that fueled the UK’s second wave of infection. He said there was evidence.

Is the variant driving the surge in the case?

It’s hard to say.

According to WHO, laboratory-based studies with limited sample sizes suggest a potential increase in transfer coefficient.

The situation is complicated by the first highly contagious B.117 mutant detected in the United Kingdom behind spikes in some parts of India. In New Delhi, cases of British variants nearly doubled in late March, according to Sujeet Kumar Singh, director of the National Center for Disease Control. However, the B.1.617 variant is widespread in Maharashtra, the country’s most devastated state, Singh said.

Chris Murray, a prominent US disease modeler at the University of Washington, said the magnitude of short-term infections in India was that “escape-type” overwhelmed previous immunity from natural infections in these populations. He said it suggests that it may be.

“It’s most likely it’s B.1.617,” he said. However, Murray warned that genetic sequence data for Indian coronaviruses are sparse and that many cases are also caused by British and South African variants.

Carlo Federico Perno, Head of Microbiology and Immunology Diagnosis at Bambinoges Hospital in Rome, points out that the B.1.617 variant is not the only reason for the massive surge in India, but a large social gathering. Said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticized for allowing large-scale political rallies and religious festivals in recent weeks.

Does the vaccine stop it?

One bright spot is that vaccines may be prophylactic. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, suggests that preliminary evidence from laboratory studies suggests that the Indian-developed vaccine, covaxin, appears to be able to neutralize mutants. He said he was.

Two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca are as effective against mutants as against the UK’s predominant strain, UK health officials said May 22 Said to.

Studies have shown that two doses of Pfizer shots were 88% effective against symptomatic disease from mutants and AstraZeneca shots were 60% effective.

Public Health England is working with international partners, but is currently working The B.1.617 variant and two related variants cause more serious illness or reduce the effectiveness of currently deployed vaccines.

WHO states that an early study of https: //bit.ly/3upM84u suggests that some of the vaccine’s ability to neutralize mutants is lost, which reduces vaccine efficacy. It is not clear if it will lead to.

“There is nothing to suggest that our diagnosis, treatment or vaccine does not work. This is important,” said WHO’s Wankelhob.