W.H.O. CLASSIFIES ‘DOUBLE MUTANT’ B.1.617 VARIANT OF GLOBAL CONCERN
SCIENTISTS SAY THE MUTATIONS FIRST SEEN IN INDIA MAY BE MAKING THE PATHOGEN MORE TRANSMISSIBLE
NEW DELHI: The coronavirus B.1.617 is a global variant of concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday as scientists reported new clues that suggest the mutations first seen in India may be making the pathogen more transmissible.
In recent days, new assessments disclosed by scientists has shown that the B.1.617 and its particular lineage B.1.617.2 have rapidly expanded their footprint in some regions, and in lab tests show that they can lead to a high viral load – although it isn’t clear yet if they are more resistant to vaccines or immunity from a past infection.
“There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of the B.1.617,” Maria Van Kerkove, the WHO’s lead on Covid-19, said on told Monday. The variant is being considered as one of the reasons why India has been overwhelmed by a surge in cases.
The coronavirus B.1.617 is a global variant of concern, the World Health Organization said on Monday as scientists reported new clues that suggest the mutations first seen in India may be making the pathogen more transmissible.
In recent days, new assessments disclosed by scientists has shown that the B.1.617 and its particular lineage B.1.617.2 have rapidly expanded their footprint in some regions, and in lab tests show that they can lead to a high viral load – although it isn’t clear yet if they are more resistant to vaccines or immunity from a past infection.
“There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of the B.1.617,” Maria Van Kerkove, the WHO’s lead on Covid-19, told reporters on Monday, also pointing to early studies. “As such we are classifying this as a variant of concern at the global level,” she said, adding that more details would be provided in the WHO’s weekly epidemiological update on Tuesday.
The variant is being considered as one of the reasons why India has been overwhelmed by a surge in cases. Now, it will be added to the list containing three other variants of Covid-19 -- those first detected in UK (B.1.1.7), Brazil (P.1) and South Africa (B.1.351) -- which the WHO has classified as being “of concern”.
They are seen as more dangerous than the original version of the virus by being more transmissible, deadly or able to get past vaccine protections.
When it comes to the B.1.617 variant, Van Kerkove stressed that for the time being “we don’t have anything to suggest that our diagnostics or therapeutics and our vaccines don’t work”.