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Business News/ Science / Health/  New Covid-19 strain not yet found in India: What we know so far about the virus
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New Covid-19 strain not yet found in India: What we know so far about the virus

India has not yet detected the new strain of coronavirus that has spread to some parts of the United Kingdom, top government officials said
  • Viruses often mutate, or develop small changes, as they reproduce and move through a population
  • Although coronaviruses generally don’t mutate as quickly as viruses responsible for seasonal flu, scientists have been tracking small changes throughout the pandemic. (Reuters)Premium
    Although coronaviruses generally don’t mutate as quickly as viruses responsible for seasonal flu, scientists have been tracking small changes throughout the pandemic. (Reuters)

    Worry has been growing since Saturday, when Britain’s prime minister said a new strain, or variant, of the coronavirus seemed to spread more easily than earlier ones and was moving rapidly through England. According to reports, the new variant of the Sars-Cov-2 could be up to 70% more transmissible than the old variant. India has not yet detected the new strain of coronavirus that has spread to some parts of the United Kingdom, top government officials said on Monday.

    So let's take a look at what we know sao far about the new Covid-19 strain

    Markets slip on virus concern

    A gauge of equities around the world fell on Monday and oil prices plunged as concerns about a new coronavirus strain in Britain overshadowed optimism over a vaccine-fueled rebound in economic growth.

    Also Read | Dark underbelly of India Inc’s shop floors

    Britons under tougher lockdowns

    The new coronavirus strain, said to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original, has put some 16 million Britons under tougher lockdowns and prompted several countries to shut their borders to the UK.

    New coronavirus variant appears to spread much more quickly

    Although coronaviruses generally don’t mutate as quickly as viruses responsible for seasonal flu, scientists have been tracking small changes throughout the pandemic. The U.K. variant raised worries because samples collected from patients showed that the new strain was fueling a disproportionate number of new infections. Experts tracking it said there was some early but unconfirmed evidence that it could transmit as readily among children as among adults, unlike previous dominant strains.

    Places where cases of the new strain were reported

    Cases of the new strain have also been in detected in some other countries, including Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands. Australia said two people who travelled from Britain to New South Wales state were carrying the mutated virus.

    Countries suspend flights to UK

    India, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Jordan and Hong Kong suspended travel for Britons. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman closed their borders completely.

    Several other nations blocked travel from Britain over the weekend, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Belgium and Canada.

    France shut its border to arrivals of people and trucks from Britain, closing off one of the most important trade arteries with mainland Europe.

    New Covid strain caused panic across the globe

    The discovery of the new strain, just months before vaccines are expected to be widely available, sowed new panic in a pandemic that has killed about 1.7 million people worldwide and more than 67,000 in Britain.

    Scientists are racing to uncover what it means

    There is, however, no evidence yet to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness, or that vaccines will be any less effective against the new variant. “There’s zero evidence that there’s any increase in severity" of COVID-19 from the latest strain, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan said. “We don’t want to overreact," the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN.

    What is mutation?

    Mutation are changes that are common when a virus replicates within a host. This is because the relication is not perfect. Imperfect copies of the virus die out, but ever so often, a mutation could end up giving it properties that make it stronger, more infective.

    Why do mutations occur?

    Viruses often mutate, or develop small changes, as they reproduce and move through a population — something “that’s natural and expected," WHO said in a statement. “Most of the mutations are trivial. It’s the change of one or two letters in the genetic alphabet that doesn’t make much difference in the ability to cause disease," said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who directs a global health program at Boston College. A more concerning situation is when a virus mutates by changing the proteins on its surface to help it escape from drugs or the immune system, or if it acquires a lot of changes that make it very different from previous versions.


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    Published: 22 Dec 2020, 06:39 AM IST
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