Indian COVID-19 Variant Found In At Least 17 Countries: WHO

Mumbai: World Health Organization on Tuesday said the B.1.617 variant of COVID-19 first found in India has been detected in at least 17 countries.

The UN health agency said as of Tuesday it had been detected in over 1,200 sequences uploaded to the GISAID open-access database ‘from at least 17 countries.’

“Most sequences were uploaded from India, the United Kingdom, USA and Singapore,” the WHO said in its weekly epidemiological update on the pandemic.

That label would indicate that it is more dangerous than the original version of the virus by for instance being more transmissible, deadly or able to dodge vaccine protections.

India is facing surging new cases and deaths in the pandemic, and fears are rising that the variant could be contributing to the unfolding catastrophe.

However, The WHO acknowledged that its preliminary modelling based on sequences submitted to GISAID indicates “that B.1.617 has a higher growth rate than other circulating variants in India, suggesting potential increased transmissibility”.

“Indeed, studies have highlighted that the spread of the second wave has been much faster than the first,” the WHO said.

“Further investigation is needed to understand the relative contribution of these factors,” it added.

Meanwhile, The explosion in infections in India 350,000 new cases was recorded there on Tuesday alone has driven a surge in global cases to 147.7 million. The virus has now killed more than 3.1 million people worldwide.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.