WHO has a new variant of the coronavirus identified in India on its radar

This Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that it has received information and “has on its radar” a variant of coronavirus identified in the India. It is not known whether it is related to the dramatic increase in cases of COVID-19 in that country.

This variant has two mutations in its genome and was discovered at the end of 2020 in two Indian states and since then “the proportion of cases has increased“, said the head of the technical cell against COVID-19 of the WHO, María Von Kerkhove, at a press conference from Geneva.

India on Friday recorded a new daily record of cases of coronavirus, with more than 217,000, in what constitutes the second wave of the pandemic in this country, the second most affected in the world by number of cases (14.3 million) and the fourth by deaths (174,308).

The discovery of the new variant was the result of genetic sequencing work on the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that are made around the world and that seek to detect as soon as possible any modification of the virus that could make it more transmissible, capable of causing more serious symptoms or making tests, vaccines or medications ineffective.

“As we know, viruses change, they mutate over time and this is a variant of interest that we are following”, said the expert.

She added that the mutations that have been detected have some similarities with others that have been registered and that can be the cause of more infections and, in some cases, “can reduce neutralization, which can have an impact on measures such as vaccines”.

Von Kerkhove said that the WHO is working with India and other countries to increase genetic sequencing in the world and detect and evaluate the variants of interest (a category in which India is now found) and those considered “worrying”.

The latter are the variants first identified in the UK, South Africa and in Japan almost at the same time as in Brazil.

All three have spread to different parts of the world in recent months.

“Vaccines continue to work against the variants of concern and in particular against severe symptoms, and this is important to say,” emphasized Von Kerkhove.