Monday, March 17, 2025

First in NE, double mutant Covid strain detected in Assam

Date:

Share post:

spot_img

GUWAHATI, April 23: Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Assam, samples of the double mutant variant of novel coronavirus have been found at the Dibrugarh Airport, the first such detection in the northeastern region, officials said on Friday.

Health officials said that before Assam, the double mutant strain was founda in Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted: “Recent samples from Dibrugarh Airport are positive for B.1.617 strain or the Indian double mutant (L452R and E484Q) strain of SARS-Cov-2. We need to be very very careful.”

The double mutant (B.1.617) strain is said to be responsible for the current surge in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra and few other states in India.

Scientists had earlier feared that vaccines may not offer protection against the double mutant strain as it may escape the immune system.

“There were 7,685 active cases in Assam on Tuesday night and it rose to 10,571 late on Thursday night. So far, 2,31,069 positive cases have been reported from across the state, while 1,160 patients have succumbed to the virus,” a health official said.

spot_img

Related articles

Mindless pollution: Teenagers shocked over sorry state of Umkaliar river

SHILLONG, March 16: Operation Clean-Up (OCU), a citizens’ group comprising concerned individuals, groups, and institutions committed to cleaning...

Dust, vehicle emissions add to Byrnihat’s ‘poisonous’ air

SHILLONG, March 16: Byrnihat, an industrial town in the Assam-Meghalaya border, is facing an air crisis that is...

Now, NEHU VC seeks support from non-teaching staff

SHILLONG, March 16: Having failed to convince the students to back him in order to restore normalcy in...