Highlights
- WHO team in China to initiate investigations into COVID-19 origins
- Aim to understand animal hosts for COVID & how it jumped to humans: Dr Ryan
- WHO’s investigations may help in settling unanswered questions: Experts
New Delhi: After nearly seven months of the world fighting the worst pandemic in 100 years, one of the biggest mysteries that remains unsolved is the origin of the virus itself. It is true that the first reported cases of the Novel Coronavirus came from Wuhan in China and based on the initial cases it was believed that the wet market in Wuhan could be the origin of this outbreak. But there is no scientific evidence yet to link the wet market to the outbreak and more than that there is a complete lack of knowledge of how the virus reached humans. On July 7, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO) said,
Over the past few months, there has been a lot of discussion about the origins of COVID-19. All preparations have been finalised and WHO experts will be travelling to China this weekend to prepare scientific plans with their Chinese counterparts for identifying the zoonotic sources of the disease.
Also Read: 6 Months On, A Recap Of How the Coronavirus Pandemic Unfolded
A zoonotic outbreak refers to germs, could be virus, bacteria, parasite or fungi that originate in vertebrate animals and then spread to humans. From influenza pandemic in 1918-19 to HIV, Ebola, Swine Flu, Zika and NIPAH virus outbreaks, it is estimated that 70-80 per cent of all emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are of zoonotic origins. The current outbreak is a new strain of the coronavirus, variants of which have been known to the scientists as originating from bats.
Also Read: Coronavirus Explainer: 15 COVID-19 Related Terms And What These Mean
For instance, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002, which was caused by SARS-CoV, the predecessor of the current pandemic, also started in China and is believed to be found in bats which then “spilled over” to civet cats, before finding its way into humans. The transition to civet cats possibly happened in a wet market, like the one in Wuhan being suspected to be the epicenter for this particular outbreak. Civet cats were a delicacy in China and sold in wet markets for human consumption. After these animals are found to be the source of SARS, not only was the sale of these banned but many civet cats were culled to control the outbreak. SARS subsided in 2003 after spreading to 26 countries, infecting 8,000 and killing around 800 people. Even in case of the other coronavirus outbreak in 2012, the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome or MERS, the MERS-CoV jumped from bats to humans through an intermediary species which took over a year to be identified.
I’ve personally been on several missions for WHO related to different emerging infections and if I just think back to MERS, for example, it took us more than a year to identify the intermediate hosts, which are the Dromedary camels. But on these types of missions what we do is we listen, we learn, we understand what has been done so far, so that we can work with counterparts and with international partners to lay out what needs to be done in terms of what studies need to be done at the animal-human interface, said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s Technical Lead for COVID-19 during a press briefing.
Also Read: Coronavirus Explained: What Is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus?
The reason the WHO mission to discover the origin of SARS-CoV-2 assumes importance is because currently the chain of origin and transmission is scientifically known. Bats may have been the primary carriers, once that is established it needs to be scientifically established if the “spill over” happened directly or were there any other species involved before humans got infected. Laying out the objectives of the China mission, Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Emergencies Programme on July 13 explained that the two member team which had reached China and was undergoing mandatory quarantine as per the Chinese government rules, but this is really the first step in a long-drawn process. He said,
This is a preliminary advance team that’s there to work with the Chinese scientists and others to lay out what the main questions and the approach and the studies that are going to be needed by a much larger international team that will work in collaboration with the Chinese colleagues over the coming weeks and months. The experts will develop the scope and terms of reference for a WHO-led international mission. The mission objective is to advance the understanding of animal hosts for COVID-19 and ascertain how the disease jumped between animals and humans.
Identifying the exact manner in which the disease made the transition from animals to human not only establishes how the pandemic unfolded but is also a critical link to probably control and prevent similar outbreaks in future.
I think it is a really important question to figure out first of all which bat species it came from, but also if there were any other types of intermediate species involved, those are really important questions. Even if it doesn’t help us contain this pandemic it will help us to have more information on how to prevent something like this from happening again. I think it’s also important from a foreign policy perspective at least here in the US because we have seen these conspiracy theories about laboratory origins and suggestions that this virus was engineered, so I think it is really important to do this investigation, says Columbia University virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen.
Putting conspiracy theories to rest conclusively is one crucial aspect of the investigations in the origins of COVID-19, but as Giridhar R Babu, Professor and Head Lifecourse Epidemiology at Public Health Foundation of India lists down, there are still many unanswered questions when it comes to this outbreak that the investigations can throw some light on,
“The virus has a zoonotic source and can spread from animals to humans too. It is similar to SARS related bat coronavirus in the Sarbecovirus group of betacoronaviruses. But critical unanswered questions are –
- Which characteristics of the virus increase its effectiveness in spreading? And why couldn’t it be contained in the early days?
- Advanced and detailed understanding of the different strains of the virus and its mutation
- How about the rate of viral mutation?
- Why is the infection asymptomatic among the majority?
- It causes death even among cases who were otherwise healthy. How and why it is happening?
- Among the survivors, is there a chance for reinfection? And what are the other health consequences in them in the long run?”
Also Read: What Do We Know About The Coronavirus Pandemic
Clearly, a lot of work still remains to be done in understanding the worst pandemic of our lifetime.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
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State & District Details
State | Cases | Active | Recovered | Deaths |
---|---|---|---|---|
DistrictCases Mumbai45,478 Thane13,660 Pune9,920 Mumbai Suburban5,363 Aurangabad1,974 Nashik1,575 Raigad1,462 Palghar1,421 Solapur1,291 Jalgaon1,039 Akola757 Nagpur692 Kolhapur646 Satara629 Ratnagiri350 Amravati291 Dhule228 Hingoli208 Jalna201 Ahmednagar190 Nanded176 Yavatmal150 Sangli145 Latur139 Osmanabad125 Sindhudurg114 Buldhana88 Parbhani78 gondia69 Beed54 Nandurbar42 Gadchiroli42 Bhandara41 Chandrapur32 Washim13 Wardha11 | 19,97,992 3,015 | 47,982 1,633 | 18,99,428 4,589 | 50,582 59 |
DistrictCases Udupi1,176 Kalaburagi669 Yadgir538 Bengaluru Urban529 Raichur369 Mandya346 Belagavi337 Bidar219 Hassan205 Davangere204 Vijayapura201 Dakshina Kannada179 Chikkaballapura149 Mysuru107 Bagalkote103 Uttara Kannada95 Shivamogga67 Dharwad61 Ballari60 Gadag45 Bengaluru Rural40 Tumakuru36 Kolar29 Haveri24 Chikkamagaluru19 Chitradurga14 Koppal5 Kodagu4 Ramanagara3 Chamarajanagara0 | 9,33,578 501 | 7,716 168 | 9,13,677 665 | 12,185 4 |
DistrictCases Kurnool795 Krishna557 Guntur511 Anantapur428 East Godavari356 Chittoor319 Sri Potti Sriramulu Nell*296 Y.S.R.205 West Godavari199 Srikakulam183 Prakasam104 Visakhapatnam103 Vizianagaram23 | 8,86,418 173 | 1,637 23 | 8,77,639 196 | 7,142 |
DistrictCases Kannur357 Kasaragod333 Palakkad224 Malappuram119 Kollam118 Thrissur106 Thiruvananthapuram104 Pathanamthitta98 Kozhikode90 Alappuzha76 Kottayam73 Ernakulam60 Idukki40 Wayanad36 | 8,64,195 6,815 | 69,914 567 | 7,90,757 7,364 | 3,524 18 |
DistrictCases Chennai23,324 Chengalpattu1,314 Thiruvallur774 Villupuram509 Kanchipuram503 Tiruvannamalai496 Cuddalore477 Ariyalur444 Tirunelveli433 Tuticorin333 Kallakurichi324 Madurai322 Salem258 Coimbatore188 Virudhunagar185 Dindigul175 Perambalur133 Ranipet133 Thanjavur130 Theni129 Tiruchirappalli119 Ramanathapuram119 Tiruppur116 Kanniyakumari110 Tenkasi103 Nagapattinam99 Karur88 Namakkal83 Erode75 Vellore71 Thiruvarur67 Pudukkottai53 Sivaganga46 Tirupathur45 Krishnagiri43 The Nilgiris17 Dharmapuri15 | 8,32,415 549 | 5,314 173 | 8,14,811 713 | 12,290 9 |
DistrictCases North West5,463 Central4,817 West4,768 New Delhi3,405 North3,059 East2,472 South East2,446 South West2,391 South2,329 North East1,914 Shahdara1,580 | 6,33,049 228 | 2,147 187 | 6,20,128 405 | 10,774 10 |
DistrictCases Gautam Buddha Nagar1,119 Agra933 Ghaziabad794 Meerut504 Lucknow386 Saharanpur298 Kanpur Nagar286 Moradabad252 Varanasi243 Hapur225 Aligarh215 Basti214 Amethi206 Rampur203 Jaunpur194 Firozabad190 Barabanki168 Gorakhpur166 Bulandshahr166 Siddharth Nagar159 Ghazipur159 Bijnor157 Deoria143 Azamgarh138 Sant Kabeer Nagar132 Mathura129 Ayodhya120 Muzaffarnagar117 Sambhal116 Sultanpur97 Ambedkar Nagar92 Maharajganj85 Amroha80 Rae Bareli78 Bahraich73 Kheri72 Kannauj69 Baghpat68 Kushi Nagar67 Bhadohi60 Ballia60 Gonda59 Etah52 Hardoi49 Balrampur49 Mau48 Mainpuri46 Etawah46 Hathras43 Unnao42 Jalaun41 Jhansi41 Shamli40 Chandauli38 Auraiya37 Farrukhabad36 Sitapur32 Prayagraj30 Banda27 Shahjahanpur25 Shravasti23 Budaun23 Mirzapur22 Bareilly17 Kasganj16 Pratapgarh15 Pilibhit15 Sonbhadra10 Kaushambi6 Kanpur Dehat4 Chitrakoot4 Lalitpur3 Hamirpur3 Mahoba3 Fatehpur3 | 5,97,628 390 | 7,873 299 | 5,81,164 682 | 8,591 7 |
DistrictCases Kolkata2,777 Howrah1,435 24 Paraganas North1,031 Hooghly604 24 Paraganas South281 Maldah235 Dinajpur Uttar216 Coochbehar210 Birbhum206 Medinipur West159 Medinipur East153 Nadia139 Purba Bardhaman130 Murshidabad125 Bankura116 Darjeeling97 Jalpaiguri88 Paschim Bardhaman70 Purulia66 Dinajpur Dakshin50 Alipurduar39 Kalimpong18 Jhargram9 | 5,66,482 409 | 6,675 106 | 5,49,727 509 | 10,080 6 |
DistrictCases Ganjam581 Jajapur322 Khordha238 Baleshwar190 Kendrapara164 Cuttack155 Bhadrak137 Balangir129 Puri103 Sundargarh102 Jagatsinghapur91 Nayagarh86 Mayurbhanj73 Nuapada69 Gajapati61 Dhenkanal36 Boudh34 Kendujhar34 Deogarh33 Kalahandi33 Sonepur29 Kandhamal28 Anugul26 Malkangiri20 Bargarh16 Koraput16 Sambalpur16 Jharsuguda8 Nabarangpur2 Rayagada2 | 3,33,723 157 | 1,500 113 | 3,30,321 270 | 1,902 |
DistrictCases Jaipur2,177 Jodhpur1,748 Udaipur724 Bharatpur563 Kota503 Nagaur500 Ajmer379 Dungarpur374 Pali352 Jhalawar329 Bhilwara250 Sikar231 Chittorgarh188 Tonk171 Jalore164 Rajsamand140 Sirohi130 Bikaner112 Banswara91 Alwar90 Churu81 Jhunjhunu64 Dausa61 Dholpur60 Baran59 Jaisalmer53 Barmer34 Hanumangarh31 SawaiMadhopur26 Karauli17 Pratapgarh14 Ganganagar8 Bundi5 | 3,15,816 213 | 4,077 227 | 3,08,985 438 | 2,754 2 |
DistrictCases Bilaspur100 Korba100 Mungeli87 Baloda Bazar85 Jashpur77 Janjgir-Champa56 Mahasamund54 Rajnandgaon52 Kabirdham52 Raigarh47 Raipur46 Balod41 Korea39 Durg31 Bemetara21 Kanker19 Balrampur17 Surguja14 Gariyaband10 Surajpur9 Dhamtari6 Bijapur2 Bastar2 Dantewada0 Kondagaon0 Narayanpur0 Sukma0 | 2,94,949 594 | 5,798 134 | 2,85,566 718 | 3,585 10 |
DistrictCases Hyderabad2,475 Ranga Reddy183 Suryapet87 Jagitial77 Nizamabad76 MedchalMalkajgiri75 Mancherial43 YadadriBhuvanagiri40 Jogulamba Gadwal40 Vikarabad40 Nalgonda33 Warangal Urban32 Mahabubnagar30 Sangareddy26 Khammam26 Adilabad22 Nirmal21 Karimnagar17 RajannaSircilla16 Medak11 Kamareddy11 Mahabubabad10 Jayashankar Bhupalapally9 Nagarkurnool8 Kumuram Bheem Asifabad8 Jangoan8 Siddipet7 Peddapalli5 Bhadradri Kothagudem5 Warangal Rural4 Mulugu3 Narayanpet3 Wanaparthy1 | 2,92,621 226 | 3,920 1 | 2,87,117 224 | 1,584 1 |
DistrictCases Gurugram2,950 Faridabad867 Sonipat404 Rohtak145 Palwal120 Jhajjar114 Karnal104 Hisar98 Ambala93 Panipat78 Nuh68 Bhiwani60 Rewari56 Kurukshetra55 Sirsa50 Kaithal48 Mahendragarh47 CharkiDadri43 Panchkula39 Fatehabad38 Jind38 Yamunanagar19 | 2,66,686 105 | 1,734 103 | 2,61,955 204 | 2,997 4 |
DistrictCases Patna279 Bhagalpur266 Rohtas256 Khagaria253 Begusarai243 Madhubani199 Munger188 Jehanabad178 Katihar175 Darbhanga143 Samastipur139 Siwan139 PurbiChamparan138 Purnia135 Banka134 Buxar134 Nalanda123 Gopalganj123 Nawada122 Sheikhpura118 Gaya115 Kaimur (bhabua)105 Bhojpur103 Saran101 Muzaffarpur96 Saharsa88 Supaul87 Vaishali87 Madhepura82 Kishanganj75 Aurangabad75 Sitamarhi73 Lakhisarai72 Araria68 Pashchim Champaran57 Arwal52 Jamui47 Sheohar20 | 2,58,176 185 | 3,143 98 | 2,53,569 280 | 1,464 3 |
DistrictCases Ahmadabad17,125 Surat2,311 Vadodara1,555 Gandhinagar410 Mahesana159 Banas Kantha147 Bhavnagar146 Rajkot135 Arvalli134 Mahisagar125 Anand107 PanchMahals107 Patan105 SabarKantha101 Kachchh99 Kheda98 Jamnagar63 Bharuch56 Botad55 Surendranagar55 Valsad47 GirSomnath45 Dohad43 Chhotaudepur37 Naysari35 Junagadh31 Narmada25 DevbhumiDwarka22 Amreli16 Porbandar11 Tapi6 Dang5 Morbi4 | 2,57,342 490 | 5,748 219 | 2,47,223 707 | 4,371 2 |
DistrictCases Indore3,839 Bhopal1,880 Ujjain799 Burhanpur351 Neemuch319 Jabalpur276 East Nimar266 Sagar228 Gwalior211 Khargone196 Dewas140 Dhar132 Mandsaur112 Morena109 Bhind87 Raisen71 Barwani60 Ratlam51 Rewa39 Shajapur39 Hoshangabad37 Vidisha37 Chhatarpur35 Betul35 Rajgarh31 Dindori29 Sheopur26 Damoh26 Satna24 Anuppur22 Panna20 Tikamgarh18 Sidhi17 Narsinghpur17 Chhindwara16 Agar Malwa15 Mandla15 Shivpuri15 Jhabua14 Shandol14 Singrauli13 Ashoknagar13 Datia12 Sehore12 Umaria10 Balaghat9 Guna8 Harda4 Alirajpur3 Katni3 Seoni2 Niwari0 | 2,52,466 280 | 5,008 724 | 2,43,688 997 | 3,770 7 |
DistrictCases Kamrup Metro276 Golaghat203 Nagaon143 Hojai89 Dima Hasao86 Karimganj85 Tinsukia84 Cachar80 Dibrugarh61 Hailakandi57 Lakhimpur57 Marigaon50 Dhemaji47 Kamrup42 Kokrajhar37 Dhubri30 Charaideo29 Barpeta28 Udalguri28 Sonitpur27 Jorhat24 Nalbari23 Darrang20 Sivasagar20 Goalpara19 Biswanath16 Baksa14 KarbiAnglong13 Bongaigaon12 Chirang6 West KarbiAnglong5 South SalmaraMancachar4 Majuli2 | 2,16,919 32 | 2,663 65 | 2,13,179 95 | 1,077 2 |
DistrictCases Amritsar485 Jalandhar297 Ludhiana293 Tarn Taran163 Gurdaspur154 Hoshiarpur140 S.A.S Nagar137 Patiala132 Sangrur107 Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr)99 Pathankot86 Rupnagar (Ropar)74 Faridkot74 Sri Muktsar Sahib71 Moga65 Bathinda60 Fatehgarh Sahib57 Fazilka53 Firozepur50 Kapurthala44 Mansa31 Barnala25 | 1,71,136 199 | 2,405 7 | 1,63,211 202 | 5,520 4 |
DistrictCases Anantnag395 Srinagar300 Kulgam295 Baramulla271 Shopian255 Kupwara231 Bandipora175 Udhampur155 Ramban151 Jammu138 Budgam110 Pulwama108 Kathua53 Rajouri39 Ganderbal37 Poonch35 Doda27 Reasi26 Samba25 Kishtwar10 Mirpur0 Muzaffarabad0 | 1,23,647 109 | 1,099 4 | 1,20,625 113 | 1,923 |
DistrictCases East Singhbum170 Ranchi148 Hazaribagh110 Garhwa80 Ramgarh75 Koderma58 Simdega48 Dhanbad32 Gumla28 Palamu27 West Singhbhum21 SaraikelaKharsawan20 Giridih19 Bokaro16 Latehar14 Khunti10 Lohardaga8 Deoghar5 Dumka5 Pakur4 Jamtara2 Godda2 Chatra1 Sahebganj0 | 1,18,012 125 | 1,102 45 | 1,15,853 170 | 1,057 |
DistrictCases Dehradun370 Nainital323 Tehri Garhwal110 Haridwar94 Udam Singh Nagar83 Almora71 Champawat45 Pithoragarh43 Chamoli36 PauriGarhwal36 Bageshwar31 Rudraprayag30 Uttar Kashi24 | 95,192 153 | 2,005 13 | 91,565 137 | 1,622 3 |
DistrictCases Hamirpur117 Kangra105 Una41 Solan32 Chamba29 Bilaspur21 Mandi21 Sirmaur11 Shimla10 Kullu4 Kinnaur2 Lahaul And Spiti0 | 57,082 63 | 575 9 | 55,540 72 | 967 |
DistrictCases South Goa69 North Goa57 | 52,657 87 | 865 3 | 51,036 84 | 756 |
DistrictCases Pondicherry111 Mahe4 Karaikal2 Yanam0 | 38,737 31 | 296 1 | 37,798 32 | 643 |
DistrictCases Dhalai196 Sepahijala174 Gomati74 South Tripura53 Unakoti49 West Tripura45 Khowai24 North Tripura14 | 33,339 3 | 37 1 | 32,911 4 | 391 |
DistrictCases Churachandpur32 Kangpokpi26 Imphal West21 Thoubal18 Imphal East10 Tengnoupal9 Bishnupur7 Senapati6 Chandel5 Kamjong5 Ukhrul4 Jiribam3 Pherzawl3 Kakching2 Tamenglong2 Noney1 | 28,919 19 | 244 9 | 28,308 10 | 367 |
DistrictCases Chandigarh313 | 20,623 28 | 171 14 | 20,122 42 | 330 |
DistrictCases Changlang31 Papum Pare8 Lohit3 Namsai2 West Siang1 East Siang1 Upper Siang1 Tawang1 PakkeKessang1 West Kameng0 Upper Subansiri0 Tirap0 Siang0 Shi Yomi0 Anjaw0 Lower Subansiri0 Lower Dibang Valley0 Longding0 Leparada0 KurungKumey0 KraDaadi0 Kamle0 East Kameng0 Dibang Valley0 Lower Siang0 | 16,815 | 46 6 | 16,713 6 | 56 |
DistrictCases East Khasi Hills22 West Garo Hills5 South West Garo Hills4 North Garo Hills1 West Jaintia Hills1 West Khasi Hills1 East Garo Hills0 East Jaintia Hills0 Ribhoi0 South Garo Hills0 South West Khasi Hills0 | 13,717 7 | 133 0 | 13,440 7 | 144 |
DistrictCases Dimapur20 Mon8 Kohima7 Kiphire3 Tuensang3 Peren2 Phek1 Longleng0 Mokokchung0 Wokha0 Zunheboto0 | 12,067 1 | 106 6 | 11,873 7 | 88 |
DistrictCases Kargil77 LehLadakh43 | 9,668 6 | 76 3 | 9,463 9 | 129 |
DistrictCases East District3 South District3 North District0 West District0 | 6,057 5 | 160 4 | 5,766 1 | 131 |
DistrictCases South Andamans33 Nicobars1 North And Middle Andaman1 | 4,991 2 | 29 1 | 4,900 3 | 62 |
DistrictCases Kolasib11 Aizawl10 Mamit8 Lawngtlai2 Lunglei2 Saitual1 Champhai0 Hnahthial0 Khawzawl0 Saiha0 Serchhip0 | 4,346 12 | 69 2 | 4,268 10 | 9 |
DistrictCases Dadra And Nagar Haveli20 | 3,393 2 | 11 2 | 3,380 | 2 |
DistrictCases Lakshadweep District0 | 30 9 | 30 9 | 0 | 0 |