News Analysis India

Tag: genomics consortium

  • No cases of new Covid variants Mu, C.1.2 reported in India so far: Genomic consortium

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: While there have been no cases of new Covid-19 variants Mu, South African C.1.2 in India so far but the national genomic surveillance consortium Friday called for “more strongly implementing” existing recommendations on sequencing of positive samples from international travelers.

    The weekly bulletin from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) shows that Delta and Delta sub-lineages continue to be the main VOC (variants of concern) in India and AY.4 is the most frequently seen sub-lineage in recent sequences from India, as well as globally. Of the 63,774 samples of Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest sequenced by the INSACOG, 42,833 were Delta.

    The WHO added B.1.621 (including B.1.621.1) to the list of VOI (variants of interest) on August 30 and gave it the designation “Mu”. It has mutations that indicate potential immune escape properties. There appears to be a reduction in neutralization capacity of convalescent and vaccine sera, similar to that seen for the Beta variant, but this needs to be confirmed by further studies.

    WHO has also added C.1.2 as a new VOI. It is a sub-lineage of the C.1 variant described in South Africa but did not spread globally. The C.1.2 variant seems to have undergone many mutations in a short time, and contains mutations of all the three types that have previously been found to be important for transmissibility and immune escape

    The INSACOG data portal has now started including sub-lineage labels up to AY.12 to enable better tracking. The latest update from the PANGO network now takes the classification to AY.25, with the following notification – “as previously outlined for AY.4-AY.12, each of the new AY.13-AY.25 lineages show significant geographical clustering and these lineages have been designated to help researchers track the virus on a finer scale.

    However, their designation does not imply any functional biological difference from B.1.617.2 and, like B.1.617.2, they correspond to the WHO-defined Delta variant.”

    The INSACOG reports genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 across the country through sequencing of samples from Sentinel sites and also detailed State wise district analysis for some states under State MoUs.

  • ‘Highly infectious double mutant B.1.617 found in one-third of all sequenced samples in India’

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: One third of all genome sequenced samples of SARS CoV-2 from India shows presence of B.1.617 lineage, which was first reported in Maharashtra, shows latest data collated by INSACOG, country’s genomics consortium.

    The latest data clearly shows that the lineage, which is now viewed as responsible for the surge in several countries, drove the second wave and now dominates with nearly 75% of all samples of Variant of Concerns (VoCs) recorded in the country.

    The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), a consortium of top scientific institutions, state wise analysis of VOCs on May 28 shows that of the 21471 community samples sequenced, 11% were linked to B.1.1.7 while 31.9% were of B.1.617 lineage.

    ALSO READ | B.1.617 COVID-19 variant, first detected in India, now found in 53 countries: WHO

    Among these community sequenced samples, 9308 were VoCs – B.1.1.7, B.1.617 and B.1.351. Nearly 75% of these samples were B.1.617.

    State wise analysis of proportion of B.1.617 in sequenced community samples shows nearly half of the states reported this lineage as prime driver of Covid-19 cases. The highest percentage was found in UP (81.8), followed by Gujarat (77.4), Jharkhand (67), Tripura (50), Uttarakhand (53), Andhra Pradesh (47), Maharashtra (47) and Telangana (46).

    “The B1.1.7 lineage of SARS CoV-2 is declining in proportion across the Country in the last one and half months. The B.1.617 lineage of SARS CoV-2 has been first reported from Maharashtra but now seen in other states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana. The current surge (second wave) in cases seen over the last two months in some states shows a correlation with the rise in the B1.617 lineage of SARS CoV-2,” said the consortium.

    B.1.617 lineage is further evolved into three sub lineages – B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3 and early data shows B.1.617.2 has higher transmission advantages over the other two sub-lineages.