News Analysis India

Tag: Lambda variant

  • COVID-19: No case of SARS-CoV-2’s Lambda variant found in India yet, says Centre

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: No case of the Lambda variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been found in India so far, the government said on Friday. Responding to a question at a press briefing, joint secretary in the health ministry, Lav Agarwal, said Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) is closely monitoring the variant.

    “Lambda was the seventh variant of interest identified by the WHO (World Health Organisation) on June 14 and it has been detected in 25 countries,” he said.

    “In our country, no cases have been reported and INSACOG is monitoring it and we are watchful. In Peru, 80 per cent infections were from this variant. It has also been found in South American countries and also in the UK and European countries, and any public health impact will be monitored,” Agarwal said.

    NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr VK Paul said the Lambda variant is a variant of interest so its total significance is still being explored. “As far as we know it has not entered our country, we have not detected this variant in our country. Our surveillance system INSACOG is very effective and it will detect it if it happens to enter our country because when you do sequencing, all this will be picked up. So we should watch for that,” he said.

    Paul said the Lambda strain is a variant of interest which means its public health significance is being watched but it has not been proven for excessive transmissibility, for impact on excess severity or any other public health issues like those related to vaccines.

    “We should be watchful for these variants because the virus is under pressure and when it goes under pressure then it tends to pick up characteristics that tend to help it in survival but as of now we should be watching such variants for their presence in our country but as of now we have no evidence that this has been detected in any part of our country,” he added.

  • Lambda variant of COVID-19 not reported in India so far, says expert

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: The lambda variant of COVID-19 has not been reported in India so far, sources said on Wednesday.

    Speaking to ANI, Dr Pragya Yadav, head of the National Institute of Virology’s Maximum Containment Facility, “Lambda variant has been detected in 30 countries. Lambda variant was first reported from Peru, in December 2020. The number of cases reported from this variant is increasing in different countries, indicating it to be highly transmissible. A recent study revealed that the lambda variant is susceptible to mRNA vaccine-elicited antibodies and convalescent serum was able to neutralize the lambda variant.”

    Notably, the lambda variant has been designated as a ‘Variant of Interest’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Asked if the variant has been reported in India, Dr Yadav said, “No, so far India has not reported any case of lambda variant.”

    A new COVID-19 strain called ‘Lambda’ is much more dangerous than the Delta variant, said the UK Health Ministry adding that it has been detected in more than 30 countries in the past four weeks. On Monday, the UK Health Ministry tweeted, “The Lambda strain was reported to have originated from Peru, the country with the highest mortality rate in the world.”

    Lambda accounts for nearly 82 percent of the coronavirus case samples reported during May and June in Peru, Euro News reported citing the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

    Recently, Public Health England in the UK reported a handful of cases caused by Lambda had been detected in the country and recognised it as having “a potential increased transmissibility or possible increased resistance to neutralizing antibodies”.