What is the “double mutant” strain plaguing India and why it could be the most dangerous in the world

On Sunday afternoon, the National Directorate of Migration postponed scheduled Argentinian flights to India due to its worrying health situation and the emergence of a new “double mutant” strain in the country.

With a record 2,803 deaths and more than 352,000 confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, India is facing its worst health crisis to date: overwhelmed hospitals, lack of oxygen and cRepeats in the streets and in private homes are among the most heartbreaking postcards of the pandemic in the Asian country.

What do we know about the new strain that has emerged in India and why is it called a “double mutant”?

THE NEW INDIAN STRAIN

The new variant of the virus that has emerged in the Indian state of West Bengal is scientifically named B.1.617. This new strain consists of about 15 mutations and is called a “double mutant” because two of them, E484Q and L452R, are found in the spcula of the virus, that is to say in the element by which it. invades and infects an individual.

The E484Q and L452R mutations had been discovered before, but they have never been seen together until now. According to specialists, this variation could be more contagious and more resistant to the immune system of humans.

However, given that it is so recent, the effects of B.1.617 in practice are still not fully known, so it remains to be confirmed whether this new strain is actually more dangerous, contagious or fatal than others.

As Sharon Peacock, director of the British Genomic Consortium on COVID-19 (COG-UK) and professor of public health and microbiology at the University of Cambridge, told the Science Media Center, “it is not known if the B.1.617 variant is the main driver of the current wave in India “.

Thus, it is not yet clear whether the increase in cases in India “is associated with the variant, the behavior of citizens (and prevention measures) or if both contribute to it,” Peacock adds.

So far, this strain has been detected in the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Spain, although without community circulation. In this context, consultations are underway on the possibility of including India in a list of dangerous countries in terms of epidemiological situation.

Argentina thus joins a variety of countries that have already restricted their flights to and from the Asian nation, after Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, as revealed. through their social networks the director of migration, Florencia Carignano.