The Wall Post

Connecting you with Reality !

Delta variant behind India’s second wave COVID-19 surge

Second wave of COVID-19 cases in the country during the months of April and May is directly linked to the rise of B.1.617 or the Delta Variant of SARS-COVID-19 cases.

Covid-19 News: In a recent observation made by the Indian SARS-COVID-19 Consortium on Genomics has revealed that the recent surge of second wave of COVID-19 cases in the country during the months of April and May is directly linked to the rise of B.1.617 or the Delta Variant of SARS-COVID-19 cases.

Delta variant behind India’s second wave COVID-19 surge
Delta variant behind India’s second wave COVID-19 surge (File Pic)

The Indian Sars-Covid-19 Consortium on Genomics or (INSACOG) is a national group of ten laboratories that was established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in December 25th, 2020. The INSACOG is primarily tasked with genomic sequencing of viral variants of COVID-19, tracing out the origins of specific variants.

It says that the double mutant variant is a variant of mutations of two separate variants, E484Q and L452R. The double mutant variant was initially reported only in Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab and was soon reported in West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat as well.

Also Read: Maharashtra government to call off global vaccine tenders

While the E484Q variant was indigenous, the L452R variant is from the U.S. The mutated and combined viral strains of both L452R and E484Q that became the B.1.617 variant proved to be more deadly and infectious. The B.1.617 has further three new lineages of itself, B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and the B.1.617.3 and it is B.1.617.2 which is dubbed the Delta variant.

All the three sub-lineages of the Delta variant are highly infectious and this nature of high transmissibility is enabled by a third mutation of P681R in the B.1.617 variant. The B.1.617.2 variant has a reduced antibody efficacy and reduced susceptibility to neutralization by vaccine serums.

Also Read: CBSE Class 12 Board Exams cancelled on account of students’ safety

The B.1.617.2 variant has nine to ten spike mutations and two receptor binding domain mutations – L452R and T478K. B.1.6171.1 and B.1.617.2.

With inputs from Outlook India