“Double-mutant” COVID-19 variant in India: Latest updates here

“Double-mutant” COVID-19 variant in India: Latest updates here

Dubai: Indian scientists tracking the coronavirus recently found something interesting “”a "double mutant" COVID-19 variant. It was at the Center For Cellular & Microbiology, in Hyderabad, where this particular strain was first sequenced. The variant was initially detected in Maharashtra's Nagpur district in December last year. Recently, other cases were also reported from Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab, among others. It has now reportedly spread to 18 states in the subcontinent. Dr Rakesh Mishra, the centre's director, explained it is the result of the E484Q and L452R strains coming together to form a third, hybrid strain. As a brief background, the L452R strain was first found in California and the E484Q, an "indigenous" strain found in India. There's no name/code assigned to it yet. On Wednesday (March 24, 2021), scientists under the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) confirmed an "increase in the fraction of samples with the E484Q and L425R mutations" compared with December last year. Since its founding in December 2020, the consortium has been carryring out genomic sequencing and analyses of COVID-19 variants circulating in India. INSACOG groups 10 labs in the country and correlates their findings with data on genomic mutations gathered in a common global scientific