Premium

Explained: Which strain of coronavirus has come to India?

The researchers inferred that of the two subtypes, 70% of were of type L; the remaining were of type S.

A security guard checks an employee at an office block on Barakhamba Road in New Delhi on Monday. (Express Photo: Tashi Tobgyal)

A study from China has claimed that the novel coronavirus has two strains — ‘L’ and ‘S’. The research looked at 103 coronavirus specimens and identified 149 mutations. The researchers inferred that of the two subtypes, 70% of were of type L; the remaining were of type S.

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is yet to confirm this finding. The Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) says: “Whole genome sequencing analysis of 104 strains of the COVID-19 virus isolated from patients in different localities with symptom onset between the end of December 2019 and mid-February 2020 showed 99.9% homology, without significant mutation.”

Scientists at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune are still working to determine which strain of the virus has come to India.

📢 Express Explained is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@ieexplained) and stay updated with the latest

Subscriber Only Stories

View All

At international checkpoint, online system helps vehicles cross over sea...

Experts say Adani Group stock sell-off may not affect market, but deepens...

Delhi Confidential: Lok Sabha Speaker wants MPs to learn lessons from Pad...

Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, and criticism of the holy book

Apply New Year promo code SD25

Dr R R Gangakhedkar, head of the division of epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination, and promotion of biomedical research, said that virulence is not a function of the genetic composition of the virus alone.

“We are trying to find out about the strain in India, we should know in a few days. However if you look at that one study, they have only looked at the genes and looked at the deaths caused by each strain to decide which is less virulent, which is more,” Dr Gangakhedkar told The Indian Express.

“However, in reality”, Dr Gangakhedkar said, “mortality depends on a large number of factors including the kind of treatment the person has got, the existing medical conditions, when the person started getting medical attention, all of these things. In China alone there are some 80 different trials on (so there are that many different treatments). So it is not correct to say that virulence depends only on genes.”

First published on: 10-03-2020 at 03:40 IST