‘Variant tracking an essential part of long-term strategy’: Satyajit Rath
3 years, 7 months ago

‘Variant tracking an essential part of long-term strategy’: Satyajit Rath

The Hindu  

Satyajit Rath was trained as a physician and a pathologist and has worked on mechanisms involved in the development and functioning of the immune system, in India and overseas, and later as a faculty member at the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi. There is quite good evidence for SARS-CoV-2 virus that such ‘neutralising’ antibodies do protect better than non-neutralising ones. ‘THE INDIAN VARIANT’ The government took offence to one of the variants being described as an “Indian” variant by sections of the media. That said, ‘I am shocked, shocked, I tell you’, when I see the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India using these very geographical nomenclatures it objects so strongly to for SARS-CoV-2 virus variants: On January 12, 2021, ‘ Total number of persons found positive with UK variant strain of COVID is 96 ’; and on March 24, 2021, ‘ These include 736 samples positive for viruses of the UK lineage. It is also to do with a lack of trust and enthusiasm amongst Indian ‘experts’ from very different domains in order to work efficiently and productively in well-formed collaborations on large scale.

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History of this topic

Indian scientists complete sequencing of 10,000 genomes for database
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Indian scientists complete sequencing of 10,000 genomes for database

India TV News  

Scientists have recently completed the sequencing of genomes from 10,000 individuals across diverse Indian communities. Why it matters Sequencing genomes—essentially mapping out an individual's genetic makeup—is crucial for shaping future healthcare strategies worldwide, both in treatment and prevention. The need for Indian solutions Union minister emphasised the importance of finding solutions tailored to Indian needs, given the country's emergence as …

Covid genomics body to meet amid rise of new variant Eris
1 year, 4 months ago

Covid genomics body to meet amid rise of new variant Eris

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The emergence of a new covid variant in several countries has put Indian scientists on alert, with the country’s top covid genomics body set to discuss the evolving situation this week. The meeting of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium comes at a time the EG.5 variant, also called Eris, is sweeping across East Asia, and has surfaced in …

10,000 Indian genomes to be sequenced by year-end
1 year, 8 months ago

10,000 Indian genomes to be sequenced by year-end

The Hindu  

The Genome India Project, a Centre-backed initiative to sequence 10,000 Indian human genomes and create a database, is about two-thirds through, said Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology. We expect the 10,000 genomes to be completely sequenced by the end of the year,” said Mr. Gokhale at a conference organised by the Association of Biotech-Led Enterprises, an industry group, on …

It feels a lot like 2020: What India is doing to avoid a China-like COVID surge
2 years ago

It feels a lot like 2020: What India is doing to avoid a China-like COVID surge

Firstpost  

The rising cases of coronavirus in China have put India on edge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to wear masks in public places though they are not mandatory yet. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in Parliament that India had started a two per cent random sampling of international travellers coming to the country. Also, there will be …

Centre writes to states over rise in Covid-19 cases abroad
2 years ago

Centre writes to states over rise in Covid-19 cases abroad

Deccan Chronicle  

HYDERABAD: Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to all states and Union territories to gear up genome sequencing of positive Covid-19 cases to track variants in light of spurts of cases being seen in Japan, USA, Republic of Korea, Brazil and China. The letter states that genome sequencing will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the …

India to Revise Genome Sequencing Strategy to Gauge Severity of Omicron Variant in Population
2 years, 11 months ago

India to Revise Genome Sequencing Strategy to Gauge Severity of Omicron Variant in Population

News 18  

A top official from the union health ministry has indicated that there has been an increasing trend in Covid-19 hospitalisations across the country as overall cases continue to rise. Therefore, a decision has been taken to sequence the genomes of all the patients admitted to the intensive care unit due to the infection and of those who have died because …

India's genome sequencing strategy to be revised to see if Omicron behind hospitalisations | Exclusive
2 years, 11 months ago

India's genome sequencing strategy to be revised to see if Omicron behind hospitalisations | Exclusive

India Today  

India is all set to revise its genome sequencing strategy to see if cases of hospitalisation in Covid-19 patients is due to the Omicron variant, sources said. Samples of hospitalised patients will be sent for gene sequencing; this will help establish if the new variant of concern is behind hospitalisation, increased severity and death in Covid infected people. READ | …

Explained | How has India responded to SARS-CoV-2 variants?
2 years, 11 months ago

Explained | How has India responded to SARS-CoV-2 variants?

The Hindu  

The story so far : India began 2021 with the hope that cases would continue to decline as had been the trend from September 2020 and that the two vaccines would help stem the spread of COVID-19. On April 8, with daily cases close to a lakh and higher than it had ever been as per India’s official count, India …

EXPLAINED: As Omicron Surfaces In India, How Genomic Surveillance Can Help Us Stay A Step Ahead Of Variants
3 years ago

EXPLAINED: As Omicron Surfaces In India, How Genomic Surveillance Can Help Us Stay A Step Ahead Of Variants

News 18  

India has joined a growing list of countries where Omicron has arrived after two infections linked to the newest WHO-designated Variant of Concern were reported in Karnataka. While the world waits for more details to emerge on how much of a worry Omicron really is, health experts, including the WHO, are stressing on the need for countries to step up …

Bihar govt directs officials to conduct genome study, increase vaccination to tackle new Covid variant
3 years ago

Bihar govt directs officials to conduct genome study, increase vaccination to tackle new Covid variant

Hindustan Times  

In wake of the emergence of the new Covid-19 variant ‘Omnicron’, the Bihar government on Sunday directed health officials to conduct genome surveillance of all Covid positive samples to ascertain the strain of the virus. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holds a review meeting with health department officials to tackle the new Covid variant, in Patna on Sunday. Chief minister Nitish …

The story of how a mystifying novel coronavirus variant, Delta, has India and the globe in its grip
3 years, 2 months ago

The story of how a mystifying novel coronavirus variant, Delta, has India and the globe in its grip

The Hindu  

Early this February, it looked like India was celebrating its happiest month since March 2020. It had all the defining mutations associated with its parent, but later analysis revealed that most of the cases linked with India’s devastating second wave weren’t Kappa, but a sibling lineage, B.1.617.2, christened by WHO as ‘Delta’. “In fact, Delta has been around since October …

Genomic sequencing hubs must be made a permanent part of India’s pandemic response
3 years, 4 months ago

Genomic sequencing hubs must be made a permanent part of India’s pandemic response

Firstpost  

Public labs put into action by the INSACOG for this purpose are not adequately funded and have the capacity to process only 30,000 samples a month. To achieve the five percent sequencing target, India must process 75,000 samples a month which is 2.5 times the current scale. Making private sector labs a part of the genome sequencing process can help …

From sequencing to surveillance: How India's INSACOG track mutations in Covid-19
3 years, 5 months ago

From sequencing to surveillance: How India's INSACOG track mutations in Covid-19

Live Mint  

The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium which is a national multi-agency consortium of Genome Sequencing Laboratories laboratories established by the Government of India on 30th December 2020. {{^adFree}} {{/adFree}} INSACOG has the following specific objectives: To ascertain the status of Variants of Interest and Variants of Concern in the country To establish sentinel surveillance and surge surveillance mechanisms for early detection …

Bring genomic sequencing into the pandemic fight
3 years, 6 months ago

Bring genomic sequencing into the pandemic fight

The Hindu  

If there is one tool in the COVID-19 pandemic response, which India has been slow in adoption and has used sub-optimally, it is genomic sequencing. Based upon the analysis of nearly 3,600 genomic sequence samples from November 2020 to April 2021, the authors have reported that by April 2021, the Delta variant became the most circulating variant in Delhi and …

B.1.617.2 becoming dominant variant in India, finds genome sequencing
3 years, 7 months ago

B.1.617.2 becoming dominant variant in India, finds genome sequencing

India Today  

The United Kingdom has been closely watching the movement of the sub-lineages of the B.1.617 variant that originated in India - B1617.1, B1617.2, and B.617.3. Experts in genomic sequencing of Covid-19 variants in India have now revealed that cases which show B.1.617.2 are slowly eclipsing almost all other variants, including B.1.1.7 -- the Kent variant that originated in the UK. …

Spreads Faster, May Be Less Responsive to Treatment, Vaccine: How Worrying is the New Variant?
3 years, 7 months ago

Spreads Faster, May Be Less Responsive to Treatment, Vaccine: How Worrying is the New Variant?

News 18  

For the first time in months, people across England are meeting indoors at pubs, restaurants, cinemas, gyms and elsewhere as coronavirus rules were relaxed this week. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britons to be cautious and some of the scientists advising him say restrictions might need to be re-imposed quickly because of a worrying variant first detected in India. …

COVID variant B.1.617, first detected in India, is forcing UK to rethink its approach
3 years, 7 months ago

COVID variant B.1.617, first detected in India, is forcing UK to rethink its approach

Firstpost  

While Britain would not delay plans to ease restrictions on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the spread of the variant could force the government to change course London: Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said Friday that vaccination protocols would be changed to swiftly deliver second doses to people over 50 years old to combat the spread of …

Using term 'Indian variant' for B.1.617 strain has no basis: Health ministry
3 years, 7 months ago

Using term 'Indian variant' for B.1.617 strain has no basis: Health ministry

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: Taking umbrage at the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an "Indian variant", the Union health ministry on Wednesday said the WHO has not used the word "Indian" for this strain in its document. The ministry dismissed as "without any basis and unfounded" media reports that have used the term "Indian variant" for the B.1.617 mutant …

No basis for calling double mutant 'Indian variant', clarify govt and WHO
3 years, 7 months ago

No basis for calling double mutant 'Indian variant', clarify govt and WHO

India Today  

The Indian government on Wednesday slammed the use of the term "Indian variant" for the B.1.617 variant of coronavirus in media reports. The government clarified that the World Health Organisation has never used the word "Indian" for the variant. "Several media reports have covered the news of World Health Organisation classifying B.1.617 as a variant of global concern. The statement …

What we know about COVID variant first found in India
3 years, 7 months ago

What we know about COVID variant first found in India

Al Jazeera  

WHO says variant first identified in India last year is of global concern, with studies showing it spreads more easily. The B.1.617 variant contains two key mutations to the outer “spike” portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, said senior Indian virologist Shahid Jameel. “There is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical …

WHO classifies Covid mutation in India as ’variant of concern’
3 years, 7 months ago

WHO classifies Covid mutation in India as ’variant of concern’

Live Mint  

A Covid-19 variant spreading in India, the B.1.617, appears to be more contagious and has been classified as being "of concern", the World Health Organization said Monday. "There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility," and also possibly some increased resistance to vaccine protections, Maria Van Kerkove, WHO's lead on Covid-19, told reporters. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said …

Variant deepening India’s crisis, says top WHO scientist
3 years, 7 months ago

Variant deepening India’s crisis, says top WHO scientist

Hindustan Times  

Covid-19 variant spreading in India is more contagious and may be dodging vaccine protections, contributing to the country’s explosive outbreak, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist has said. WHO's chief scientists Soumya Swaminathan said the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19, which was first detected in India last October, was a contributing factor to the catastrophe unfolding in India. In an interview …

Second or Third Generation Versions of Indian Covid-19 Variant May be More Dangerous: Expert
3 years, 7 months ago

Second or Third Generation Versions of Indian Covid-19 Variant May be More Dangerous: Expert

News 18  

The second or third generation versions of Covid-19 variant known as B.1.617 may already be circulating in India and could be more dangerous, former Harvard Medical School professor William Haseltine has said. Prof Haseltine in his observations have pointed out that there are chances that the new variants of COVID-19 may be currently racing through India’s tightly-packed population of 1.4 …

UK variant spread increased 10 folds in Kerala from Feb to Mar
3 years, 7 months ago

UK variant spread increased 10 folds in Kerala from Feb to Mar

The Quint  

With the start of the second COVID-19 wave in February, Kerala began sequencing samples to identify the variants in the state. “Three new variants have been found in the state from the samples collected prior to the elections. These variants were found in samples collected from March 2021 but they were not found in samples collected prior to that. B.1.67 …

Indian scientists flag virus mutations that could evade immune response
3 years, 7 months ago

Indian scientists flag virus mutations that could evade immune response

India Today  

A forum of scientific advisers set up by the Indian government has told authorities about minor mutations in some samples of the coronavirus that could “possibly evade immune response” and require more study, a leader of the forum has told Reuters. The World Health Organization has not declared the Indian variant a “variant of concern,” as it has done for …

Coronavirus | Indian COVID-19 variant found in at least 17 countries, says WHO
3 years, 7 months ago

Coronavirus | Indian COVID-19 variant found in at least 17 countries, says WHO

The Hindu  

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that a variant of COVID-19 feared to be contributing to a surge in coronavirus cases in India has been found in over a dozen countries. The U.N. health agency said the B.1.617 variant of COVID-19 first found in India had as of Tuesday been detected in over 1,200 sequences uploaded to the GISAID open-access …

India’s COVID crisis — when difficult became worse
3 years, 8 months ago

India’s COVID crisis — when difficult became worse

The Hindu  

India is in its darkest days of the pandemic, but there may be still darker days to come. With one in three new infections globally occurring in the country, India’s astronomic surge in cases — more than 3 lakh daily — is propelling the global pandemic, and represents a grave threat to the economic and social well-being of the Indian …

Double mutation SARS-CoV-2 variant emerges in India: How should our COVID response change?
3 years, 8 months ago

Double mutation SARS-CoV-2 variant emerges in India: How should our COVID response change?

Firstpost  

After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. A health worker readies a COVID-19 vaccine as another comforts an elderly woman at a health center in Bahakajari village in an interior part of Indian northeastern state of Assam, India, …

The Hindu Explains | Will the ‘double mutant’ novel coronavirus strain found in India lead to a further rise in infections?
3 years, 8 months ago

The Hindu Explains | Will the ‘double mutant’ novel coronavirus strain found in India lead to a further rise in infections?

The Hindu  

The story so far: The National Centre for Disease Control, a unit of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reported this week that a unique “double mutant” variant of the novel coronavirus had been found in India. These two variants, along with another called the Brazilian variant, given their spread, infectivity and ability to somewhat reduce the efficacy of …

81% of samples in Punjab confirm UK variant
3 years, 9 months ago

81% of samples in Punjab confirm UK variant

Hindustan Times  

Chandigarh: HT Image Of the 401 samples sent for genome sequencing from across Punjab, 81% turned up positive for the new UK Covid variant B.1.1.7 in the state on Monday. In January, the state health department sent 478 Covid-19 positive samples to National Institute of Biologicals, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, and the National Centre for Disease Control, …

India has 7,684 coronavirus mutations, finds study: Here's what you need to know
3 years, 10 months ago

India has 7,684 coronavirus mutations, finds study: Here's what you need to know

Firstpost  

States including Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab and Karnataka are stepping up efforts to carry out genome sequencing in a bid to stay on top of the progressive changes in the virus’ structure At a time when the health experts are busy arresting the spread of foreign strains of the novel coronavirus, a scientific study has revealed that there are more …

India to Ramp up Genomic Surveillance to Study Coronavirus Mutations After Concerns Over UK Variant
3 years, 11 months ago

India to Ramp up Genomic Surveillance to Study Coronavirus Mutations After Concerns Over UK Variant

News 18  

The Union government is going to ramp up surveillance of the mutations and different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in light of the outbreak of a new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom. “The expanded surveillance and study of mutations can be seen together with epidemiological data of Coronavirus infections to monitor co-relations, patterns in transmission and local …

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