SHILLONG, June 27: The Health Department will be sending another 75 samples for genome sequencing on June 30.
Principal Secretary, Health, Sampath Kumar on Sunday said none of the 200 swab samples sent earlier were of the Delta Plus variant.
“We had Delta variant in the earlier samples, not Delta Plus,” he said.
The genome sequencing report received by the state government had revealed the presence of the highly infectious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Meghalaya resulting in a higher rate of hospitalisation in the state.
About 91% of the 23 samples sent for genome sequencing in May from West Garo Hills and 80% of the 56 samples from East Khasi Hills and Ri-Bhoi are confirmed cases of the Delta variant. Of the total samples sent in April, 53% were of the Delta variant.
Earlier, Kumar had said the people infected with this variant have severe symptoms such as diarrhoea and gastric problems.
“This is one of the main reasons for the higher rate of hospitalisation. The mutated virus spreads rapidly and affects a larger population. People can be infected with the variant even with a short exposure,” Kumar had said.
The Delta variant, first detected in India in November 2020, is found to be behind the second wave in the country, according to a study. The study revealed that the Delta variant is more infectious than others.
The Delta variant (also known as B.1.617.2 strain) is ‘more infectious’ than the Alpha variant which was first detected in the UK, said a study carried out by scientists of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia and National Centre for Disease Control.
