Mexico detects the first case of the new Indian variant of the coronavirus

The head of the Ministry of Health of the Government of San Luis Potosí, Miguel Ángel Lutzow Steiner, reported that according to the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDre), it was identified in Mexico the first case of the new variant of the coronavirus coming from the India.

He explained that this variant called B.1.617 that circulates mainly today in India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, was identified for the first time in San Luis Potosí, all the tests have already been done and it has been confirmed, so the infected person is isolated and under observation.

He added that it is a person who was living with relatives who reside in the United States and that is where the contagion could occur. This variant is considered “of interest” in the world since, among other things, it has a greater contagion capacity.

Finally, he said that since the beginning of the pandemic in San Luis Potosí, at least 54 variants of the Sars-Cov2 virus have been identified, but the vast majority are of little importance. However, the latter is still under study worldwide and attempts are being made to detect whether, in addition to greater ease of transmission, it also has greater resistance to medical treatments and vaccines.

Variant B.1.617

Two SARS-CoV-2 mutations were found for the first time in the India a month ago, when the country began to suffer from the staggering spike in cases that is overwhelming its healthcare system; however experts are cautious in attributing responsibility for the second wave to this strain.

Variant B.1.617 mutations, known as “double mutant” and “triple mutant”, which had not been seen before anywhere else in the world, were sequenced by the SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium of India. (INSACOG), formed by 10 national laboratories to analyze the behavior of the virus.

This discovery coincided with the dizzying start of the second wave of the coronavirus in the country of 1,350 million inhabitants, which adds more than 300,000 new infections every day, and has caused the escalation of cases to be attributed to it.