NEW DELHI: The Center has asked states to guarantee positive samples of Covid-19 sent genome sequencing they are collected at random and sent with their clinical profile, as failure to do so prevents a correct assessment of whether a spread of the infection is related to a mutation.
Concern for the Center arose after several districts, especially in Maharashtra, were found sending samples collected in series and not randomly, often resulting in the same profile of a particular group, officials said, stressing that this poses obstacles to analyzing whether there is a spread due to a significant mutation .
The Covid 19 virus has been mutant and several mutations have been found in many countries and in India, including the United Kingdom (17 mutations), Brazil (17 mutations) and South Africa (12 mutations). As of Thursday, 13,614 whole genome sequencing samples have been processed at the 10 designated laboratories. Of these, 1,189 samples have tested positive for SARS COV-2 concern variants in India. This includes 1,109 samples with UK variants; 79 samples with a South African variant and a sample with a Brazilian variant. These variants have a higher transmissibility.
In addition, the double mutation (two mutations) is another variant and has been found in several countries such as Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom and USA. However, greater transmissibility of this variant is not yet established. To date, higher transmissibility has been established in the United Kingdom, South Africa and the Brazilian variant.
Although many states have expressed concern that the increase in cases is due to mutations, the SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium of India (INSACOG), a network of 10 laboratories created for a continuous monitoring of the genomic changes of the virus in India, is yet to come to a conclusion.
“Genome sequencing is not that easy and takes time to study a trend. To do this, we must first eliminate the abnormalities and also study the clinical profiles. Some mutations are normal, but a variant with multiple mutations is formed, “an official said.