Coronavirus mutations found in two Maharashtra districts
What's the story
Researchers have found two new mutations in coronavirus samples from Amravati and Yavatmal districts of eastern Maharashtra which can escape neutralizing antibodies, a senior official said on Thursday.
However, in none of the samples for which genome sequencing was done, the UK, South African, or Brazilian strains of the virus were found, he added.
Rising cases
Considerable increase in number of cases in Yavatmal and Amravati
Worryingly, Yavatmal and Amravati are among the districts that have shown a considerable increase in new cases in the last week.
"Genome sequencing was done for 24 samples, four each from Amravati, Yavatmal, and Satara and 12 from Pune," said Dr. Rajesh Karyekarte, Head of Department of Microbiology at the state-run BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital.
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The commonly prevalent D614G strain was found in all samples
"We were asked by the state government to conduct genome sequencing of samples. The D614G strain which is prevalent was found in all the samples. But in Amravati, Yavatmal, and Satara, they also came across different mutations," Dr. Karyekarte said.
Bad news
Amravati mutation escapes neutralizing antibodies
"In Amravati, we came across a mutation named E484K in all the four samples. All the samples were taken from different locations," he said.
"The character of the strain found in Amravati is that it escapes neutralizing antibodies. In a nutshell, even if there are neutralizing antibodies in the human body, the particular mutation escapes or saves itself from these antibodies," Dr. Karyekarte said.
Lack of data
No scientific references were found for the Satara mutation
In Satara sample, a new mutation named V911I was found but the researchers could not find significant scientific references about this mutation in published journals, he said.
All these strains are of the A2 type of coronavirus, which is common in India.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Thursday reported over 5,000 new cases after a gap of 75 days.
Information
Mutation named N440K found in Yavatmal samples
In Yavatmal samples, they found a mutation named N440K, which is commonly seen in Andhra Pradesh, he said. "It was also found in a case of re-infection in Delhi. This mutation too can escape the neutralizing antibodies and cause re-infection," he added.
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People are behaving irresponsibly at gatherings and other functions
Dr Murlidhar Tambe, Dean of BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, said, "These small curves (spurts in infections) are happening due to lax behavior as gatherings, weddings and various functions are happening and no physical distancing is being followed."