Omicron enters India; 2 cases detected in K’taka
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU/ CHENNAI: Two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus have been detected in Karnataka, the Union government said on Thursday while asking people not to panic but follow COVID-appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated without delay.
Both the patients had mild symptoms. Severe symptoms have not been noted, said Lav Agarwal, the joint secretary in the Union Health Ministry.
Of the two cases, one was a 66-year-old South African man who came to Bengaluru on November 20 and left India after testing negative, the city’s civic agency officials said. They said the other was a 46-yearold man who is said to be a doctor -- an anaesthetist -- at a hospital in Bengaluru. He tested positive on November 22 and has no travel history to South Africa or any other country, the officials said. Both the persons were inoculated with two doses, they said. Five contacts of the doctor have also tested positive and their samples have been sent for genomic sequencing. “We were waiting for the report for the last two-three days. Today the Centre has officially said that the samples we had sent for genomic sequencing are confirmed for the new variant. So two cases of Omicron in the country have been detected in Karnataka. This proves that our aggressive testing has helped in faster identification,” Health Minister K Sudhakar said. Besides the cases detected in India, 373 cases of Omicron variant of SARSCoV-2 have been detected in 29 nations so far, according to the government. No cases in TN: Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Thursday said that no cases of Omicron have been detected in TN yet. Speaking to the media after inspecting safety measures implemented at Coimbatore International Airport, Subramanian said 3.2 lakh TaqPath kits are in stock to test the Omicron variant and 1.5 lakh more kits will be purchased.
After two cases of Omicron were confirmed in the neighbouring State of Karnataka on Thursday, public health experts emphasise the importance of intensified testing and the need for booster dose to fight the infection.
Senior virologist Dr Jacob John said Omicron carries every spike protein mutation that was present in Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. “In addition, there are more mutation. Thus, immunity induced by vaccinations can be less effective as against delta. This can lead to a decline in immunity and we have to increase the immunogenicity of the vaccine to increase the level of the response against virus. It is important to give booster doses to increase the antibody level like other countries,” he said. He added that Covaxin has a broader immune response. Covishield is expected to have a better spike protein.
Doctors say that it is important to continue the same diagnostic procedure and preventive measures as more information on the nature of the virus and how it can affect an individual is emerging. “For now, it is significant to intensify the RTPCR testing and based on information from other countries, it is not very high but it’s highly transmissible,” said Dr Sindhura Koganti, consultant pulmonologist, Fortis Hospital.
Talking about the changes in diagnosis and management protocol for those affected, experts say there might not be a major change in the protocol. “The testing needs to be intensified. However, genomic sequencing is to be done for those testing positive and the management of the Omicron cases is likely to be the same. On the vaccination part, more data is required to test their immunogenicity against the variant,” said public health expert Dr K Kolandaisamy.
Experts say the mortality due to Omicron in other countries is not as high as delta. With Christmas and New year approaching, it’s important to restrict social gatherings to prevent community spread.
It is important to continue the same diagnostic procedure and preventive measures till more information emerge