This is an archive article published on July 16, 2022

Delta strain dominated in children during second Covid wave, genomic surveillance recommended: Study

Experts point out that data is scarce on newly emerging Covid variants affecting the paediatric population. Hence, it is necessary to initiate active genomic surveillance in this category.

4 min readPuneUpdated: Jul 17, 2022 04:25 PM IST

The study 'Delta variant SARS-CoV-2 infections in paediatric cases during the second wave in India' was published on July 2 in the Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection. (Representational)

There has been limited information pertaining to the SARS-CoV-2 strain infecting children in India. The latest study by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) and others has shown that the Delta strain predominated as the leading cause of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children in India during the second wave of the pandemic. Dr Samiran Panda, former additional DG of ICMR who led the study, and Dr Pragya Yadav, senior scientist at ICMR-NIV and lead author of the study, told The Indian Express that the data on newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants affecting the paediatric population is scarce. Hence, it is necessary to initiate active genomic surveillance in this population.

The study ‘Delta variant SARS-CoV-2 infections in paediatric cases during the second wave in India’ was published on July 2 in the Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection. It assessed SARS-CoV-2 lineages in children during the second wave of the pandemic. Swabs were collected from 583 patients in the age group of 0-18 from across eight states and one Union territory from March 2020 to June 2021. These included Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

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Over 51.8% of the patients were in the age group of 13-19. Symptoms were reported among 37.2 patients and 14.8 per cent were reported to be hospitalised. Samples were characterised using next-generation sequencing. Out of these 512 sequences, 372 were Variants of Concern (VOC), while 51 were Variants of Interest (VOI). Most common lineages observed were Delta, followed by Kappa, Alpha and B.1.36, seen in 65.82%, 9.96%, 6.83% and 4.68%, respectively. Overall, it was observed that the Delta strain was the leading cause of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Indian children during the second wave.

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The virus is expected to be endemic. Why is genomic surveillance recommended in the paediatric population?

Genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 has played an important role in determining its emerging variants, geographical predominance, evolution over different times and understanding its trend. The emergence of multiple VOCs suggests that as long as SARS-CoV-2 circulates in populations, new variants will continue to emerge. The strategy in many countries is vaccination of adult and vulnerable populations while allowing the virus to circulate in children; the children might be vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. This necessitates the genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in the paediatric population.

Children have low rates of severe Covid-19. What are your views on this?

The fourth Covid-19 serosurvey in India showed that more than 50% of children belonging to the 6-17 years age group were seropositive, emphasising that a huge number of children were infected like adults, but not many of them required institutional care. It has been observed that children have low rates of severe Covid-19, and the proportion of cases developing severe disease increases with age. Besides this, it has also been found that vaccination induces an immune response capable of neutralising the emerging variant. This has decreased the severity of the disease and subsequent hospitalisation.

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Are any studies underway on immune response in paediatric population vaccinated with Covaxin?

In the near future, many studies will come up specifically focusing on Omicron sub-variants and newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 variants in children.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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Tags:
COVID-19
Delta variant
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

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