Concern grows over Indian variant in UK

Already said Prime Minister Boris Johnson outbreaks of the Indian variant of the coronavirus must be treated with care by the UK government. The statement was made as Public Health England he said that one version had been elevated to a “variant of concernnot “. B.1.617.2 appears to spread faster thanue two other identified subtypes of the Indian variant.

Scientists believe it is at least as transmissible as the variant first detected in Kent last year. Boris Johnson said the government needs to think “very carefully” about the public health response. “We do a lot, obviously, to make sure that when we find heads of the Indian variant, we do augmentation testing, we do door-to-door testing.“, He said.

Viruses are known to mutate all the time, producing different versions of themselves. Most of these mutations are insignificant and some can even make the virus less dangerous, but others can make it more contagious and therefore more difficult to vaccinate.

The original Indian variant, officially known as B.1.617, was first spotted in October. This version has now been re-characterized into three different subtypes, all with slightly different genetic mutations. The UK has seen a sharp increase in one particular type known as B.1.617.2 which now makes up the majority of all cases of Indian variants and appears to be growing faster than other versions.

“This variant is B.1.617 and it shares mutations with the UK variant and the California variant. WHO has already warned that the mutation of the latter, in addition to the high transmissibility, is associated with a reduction in neutralization by certain monoclonal antibody treatments, and a reduction in neutralization of post-vaccination sera in the United States», He explained to Infobae Mirna Biglione researcher at CONICET at the Institute for Biomedical Research on Retroviruses and AIDS (INBIRS), which depends on the University of Buenos Aires and CONICET, and member of the Argentinian Association of Allergy and Immunology clinical (AAAeIC).

“In Singapore, the variants b.1.617.1 and b.1.617.2, calls “Double variant”, quickly became predominant. And in the UK it seems to replace the other variants, ”Biglione added. “If it has the power to generate new waves of contagion, we must be vigilant before entering our country,” said the expert.

Figures from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, which tests positive swabs for different variants, also showed clusters of B.1.617.2 in places like Leicester, Bolton, Nottingham and Blackburn during the week through April 24. Cases are on the rise: they have risen from 202 to 520 last week, and the majority have been detected in London and the north-west of England. Almost half were related to travel or contact with a traveler, but there were examples of community transmission related to work and religious gatherings.

All current vaccines are known to offer some degree of protection against variants, but can never completely stop all infections, especially in vulnerable or elderly people.. There are those who say that because there is now evidence that this variant is more contagious and cases have increased rapidly in the UK, it marks the start of the rise of this Indian variant. But there is good reason to believe that it really will. The rapid rise in cases is linked to an increase in international travel from India before the country was included in the red list.

From Public Health England, some say increase may be coming to an endn, which means that it may reflect this increased displacement rather than a significant extension of the community. Meanwhile, the vaccines appear to work as well against this variant as the dominant virus circulating in the UK, and there are still significant social distancing restrictions that should help limit the spread. There is a lot of testing and contact tracing going on in different areas, and some surge testing is expected to be announced later in areas of greatest concern.

As a measure, all people living in specific zip codes will be asked to have a PCR test, even if they have no symptoms. And improved testing is already being rolled out in parts of Bolton, where the number of B.1.617.2 cases increased last week. “The way to limit the spread of all variants is the same, and while we all enjoy a little more freedom, the virus is still with us,” said Dr Susan Hopkins, director of strategic response for Covid-19 at Public Health. England wallet. He added on the new variants: “We are monitoring all of these variants very closely and have made the decision to classify this as a variant of concern as the indications are that it is more transmissible.”

Lab work is needed to sequence individual Covid tests and identify specific variants, which means the latest numbers are likely to represent the situation about a week ago. “The problem of the pandemic is global and we already know that what is happening in a country on another continent does not exempt us from being directly affected. Sequencing of the virus genome is essential and achieving equity in access to vaccines, ”added Biglione.

The route of the variant

The variant B.1.617 was first detected in India in October 2020, but the fact that it was first described in this country does not mean that it is its origin. To date, it has already been detected in 21 countries. It is cataloged, for the moment of search variants.

It has 13 mutations that cause amino acid changes. He has been described as a “double mutantTo refer to two specific mutations in protein S (E484Q and L452R), but this is a term to be avoided because it has many more mutations.

Of all the mutations, the ones of concern are those found in the positions 484, 452 and 681 of protein S. The first two are located in the receptor binding site (RBD), while the third is located near the furin cleavage site of the protein. This is why it is thought that they could affect the interaction of the virus with the cell.

The latest sequencing data show that there are in fact three lines of this variant, called B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3, with small differences and a different geographical distribution.

In March, the Indian Ministry of Health released a report indicating that this variant B.1.617 was predominant in India, already present in 60% of isolates. At the same time, we are seeing a dramatic increase in cases in this country.

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