With the Covid-19 crisis in India deepening day by day and the country’s health system in shambles, reports now say that a triple mutation strain has been found in parts of the country. For the uninitiated, a mutation occurs as viruses change over time, and the more they evolve, the more they mutate, as was the case with India’s double mutant strain.
The double mutant coronavirus strain was first discovered in October of last year by genome sequencing of a virus sample, and experts claim it was responsible for the recent rapid surge of the second Covid wave.
Both mutations, E484Q and L425R, were found in the virus’s essential spike protein, which attaches it to receptor cells in the body, according to the Indian Express. The mutation should have been investigated immediately, but the genome sequencing project was halted between November and January due to a shortage of funds and a lack of confidence due to the declining Covid curve.
However, a third mutation in the B.1.167 has been discovered, and scientists say it will be taken seriously this time.
A triple mutant strain may be India’s next threat, and gathering as much knowledge as possible about it is critical in order to defeat it before it causes havoc. Simply stated, a triple mutant is a variant that consists of three separate strains that have merged to form a single one.
Samples from Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh revealed two of these triple-mutant varieties. Experts also expressed concern and called for a more rapid gene sequencing in order to properly comprehend the mutant.
“As you can notice, West Bengal seems to be becoming the hotspot for such mutations. The new triple mutant could make the virus even more capable of evading the human immune response. We need to do a lot more sequencing of a lot of many samples,” said a source.
