New Delhi: At a time when India is surging fast in the number of COVID-19 cases, a triple mutation variant of Corona is found in four Indian states.
A source of the Ministry of Health said that the new variant of the virus has been detected on Tuesday which is spreading fast in the states of Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Chattisgarh.
According to the source, this new triple mutant variant of the virus has been found in 17 different samples taken for testing from Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal.
The West Bengal could become a new Corona hot spot in the days to come, the source said.
The new virus B.1.617 has been found in 133 samples out of 1373 samples taken from all over the country.
According to a BBC report, like all other viruses, the coronavirus keeps changing in small ways as it passes from one person to another. However, a lot of these mutations aren’t dangerous and don’t alter the way the virus behaves. But some mutations trigger changes in the spike protein that the virus uses to latch on to and enter human cells.
A triple mutant refers to variants which have three different strains that have combined together to form a new variant. As of now, multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants are circulating globally and a triple mutant strain could be the next challenge for India.
India is in the midst of a second COVID-19 wave, surging ahead of Brazil to become the second-most affected country in the world. With second wave of the pandemic overwhelming India, a third mutation in this B.1.617 variant which has been found now in four Indian states is going to pose a big challenge to the health authorities in India.