Highlights
- A mutation is a change in the genetic sequence of a virus
- Mutated coronaviruses are more infectious but less dangerous: Experts
- In India there may be multiple strains of coronavirus floating: Experts
New Delhi: According to experts, the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 that is continuing to spread around the world may not be the same as the virus that emerged in Wuhan province of China in late 2019 and quickly became the cause of COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020. This is because, like many other viruses, coronavirus is also prone to changes in its genetic structure because of the process known as mutation. One of the most dominant variations of coronavirus common throughout Europe and recently discovered in Malaysia called D614G has sparked the discourse around the mutation of coronavirus. The newly documented case of reinfection in Hong Kong, China is also found to be infected with coronavirus that is different in genetic structure from the virus from his first infection that the patient had caught in March this year. NDTV spoke with experts to learn about how these mutated strains arise, are these going to be even more dangerous and will these affect the efforts being made across the world to develop a vaccine?
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What Is A Mutation?
Explaining about mutation, Dr. Preeti Kumar, Vice President, Public Health System Support at the Public Health Foundation of India said,
Mutation is the property of a virus to undergo changes when it multiplies. As it replicates, it may not produce exact replicas of itself, resulting in the emergence of new strains, which may be more or at times less effective. Some strains die out, while the more effective ones, which spread efficiently, survive.
According to a study conducted by researchers in China and published in the journal National Science Review titled ‘On the Origin and Continuing Evolution of SARS-CoV-2’, earlier the novel coronavirus had emerged with amino acids of ‘S’ type which mutated into ‘L’ type. Amino Acids are organic compounds that combine to form proteins. In coronavirus, these proteins are found in the spikes of the receptor of the virus that helps in binding the virus with host cells. Receptors in the virus produce an immune response in the host body.
According to the study, the ‘L’ type strain of coronavirus became more dominant in China while the ‘S’ type coronavirus became more contagious in the rest of the world. However, in Europe, another strain of virus strain was found in February which swaps between amino acids D and G and was given the name – D614G. This strain became dominant in the whole of Europe along with many other parts of the world and was recently discovered in Malaysia.
According to Dr. KK Agarwal, President, Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO) and Medtalks, Heart Care Foundation of India, a property of this strain is that it increases the number of spikes on the virus exponentially and thus make it more contagious because, with more spikes, it becomes easy for the virus to bind with more number of cells.
In India, the first strain of coronavirus was ‘L’ strain that originated in Wuhan, according to experts, which eventually mutated into ‘S’ and ‘G’ stains, which have spread across the country.
Can Mutation Make The Pandemic Even More Dangerous?
Dr. Kumar said that because of mutation of coronavirus, there may be multiple strains floating in the country, however, only one or two strains dominate. She further said that while the dominating mutated coronavirus strain may spread at an even faster pace, it may not be as effective or dangerous as the original virus. She further explains,
The lower case fatality ratio in the country, the very high levels of asymptomatic cases, does not indicate that these variants are more dangerous versions. We should remember that the virus needs a host to survive, multiply and spread further. All organisms need to develop an optimal relationship with their host to survive and propagate. If the pathogen (virus or bacteria) is lethal, it kills the host organism. (human or animal) and if the sufficient number of hosts die, the virus dies out too. Which the virus would not like to! So, it is in its own interest to not mutate into such a severe strain that it dies out. The current strain of COVID-19 continues to live and propagate and spread efficiently.
Dr. Agarwal said that a virus mutates in order to continue existing and to exist it would try to enter more and more bodies and would need its host to remain alive. He said,
Mutating viruses are more contagious but the virulence of such virus continues decreasing with each mutation. And so mutation is not something to be worried about because it results in a milder strain. The mortality caused by this virus is low but it is spreading fast among the younger population.
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What Coronavirus Mutation Means For Vaccine Development Efforts?
According to Dr Paul Offit an American paediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, vaccines, immunology, and virology, as far as the impact of coronavirus mutation on vaccine development efforts goes, nothing conclusive can be said currently due to the lack of data. He said,
Coronavirus is genetically a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus. All viruses of this kind mutate. Influenza virus which is also a single-stranded RNA virus mutates so much that vaccination is required every year as the previous vaccine may not continue to provide protection. In the case of coronavirus, all we have right now are preliminary findings. There is no solid data as of now on if the mutation is making coronavirus more viral.
However, Dr. Agarwal said that the vaccine being developed will work even on the new strain of mutated coronavirus D614G. He said,
The gene D614G is on the outer surface of the virus and not on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) which is a fragment from the virus that gains entry into the host cells and generate an immune response. The spike protein present on the receptor which binds the receptor on the target cell of host body decides antibody formation. D614G strain does not affect that and so antibodies will be generated and there will not a need of a new set of antibodies or another kind of a vaccine. Therefore, when such a vaccine develops that proves to be successful on coronavirus, it will work on all kinds of mutations.
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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India
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 | 21,46,777 8,623 | 73,734 4,924 | 20,20,951 3,648 | 52,092 51 |
DistrictCases Kannur357 Kasaragod333 Palakkad224 Malappuram119 Kollam118 Thrissur106 Thiruvananthapuram104 Pathanamthitta98 Kozhikode90 Alappuzha76 Kottayam73 Ernakulam60 Idukki40 Wayanad36 | 10,56,149 3,792 | 50,803 876 | 10,01,164 4,650 | 4,182 18 |
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 | 9,50,730 523 | 5,657 137 | 9,32,747 380 | 12,326 6 |
DistrictCases Kurnool795 Krishna557 Guntur511 Anantapur428 East Godavari356 Chittoor319 Sri Potti Sriramulu Nell*296 Y.S.R.205 West Godavari199 Srikakulam183 Prakasam104 Visakhapatnam103 Vizianagaram23 | 8,89,799 118 | 667 32 | 8,81,963 86 | 7,169 |
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 | 8,51,063 486 | 4,036 10 | 8,34,534 491 | 12,493 5 |
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 | 6,39,092 243 | 1,307 76 | 6,26,876 164 | 10,909 3 |
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 | 6,03,427 77 | 2,146 38 | 5,92,556 115 | 8,725 |
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 | 5,74,926 210 | 3,333 10 | 5,61,327 217 | 10,266 3 |
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 | 3,37,104 86 | 670 30 | 3,34,519 56 | 1,915 |
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 | 3,20,180 102 | 1,254 23 | 3,16,139 78 | 2,787 1 |
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 | 3,12,419 240 | 2,767 60 | 3,05,819 295 | 3,833 5 |
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 | 2,98,807 176 | 1,951 12 | 2,95,222 163 | 1,634 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 | 2,70,610 199 | 1,205 102 | 2,66,358 94 | 3,047 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 | 2,69,482 451 | 2,258 122 | 2,62,815 328 | 4,409 1 |
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 | 2,62,509 45 | 404 27 | 2,60,564 71 | 1,541 1 |
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 | 2,61,403 390 | 2,666 148 | 2,54,874 241 | 3,863 1 |
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 | 2,17,527 9 | 1,620 14 | 2,14,815 23 | 1,092 |
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 | 1,81,597 593 | 4,436 214 | 1,71,336 368 | 5,825 11 |
DistrictCases Anantnag395 Srinagar300 Kulgam295 Baramulla271 Shopian255 Kupwara231 Bandipora175 Udhampur155 Ramban151 Jammu138 Budgam110 Pulwama108 Kathua53 Rajouri39 Ganderbal37 Poonch35 Doda27 Reasi26 Samba25 Kishtwar10 Mirpur0 Muzaffarabad0 | 1,26,383 97 | 828 25 | 1,23,599 72 | 1,956 |
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 | 1,19,905 42 | 492 0 | 1,18,325 41 | 1,088 1 |
DistrictCases Dehradun370 Nainital323 Tehri Garhwal110 Haridwar94 Udam Singh Nagar83 Almora71 Champawat45 Pithoragarh43 Chamoli36 PauriGarhwal36 Bageshwar31 Rudraprayag30 Uttar Kashi24 | 97,031 | 489 1 | 94,850 | 1,692 1 |
DistrictCases Hamirpur117 Kangra105 Una41 Solan32 Chamba29 Bilaspur21 Mandi21 Sirmaur11 Shimla10 Kullu4 Kinnaur2 Lahaul And Spiti0 | 58,598 55 | 292 31 | 57,311 24 | 995 |
DistrictCases South Goa69 North Goa57 | 54,932 61 | 598 11 | 53,540 50 | 794 |
DistrictCases Pondicherry111 Mahe4 Karaikal2 Yanam0 | 39,717 20 | 197 3 | 38,852 16 | 668 1 |
DistrictCases Dhalai196 Sepahijala174 Gomati74 South Tripura53 Unakoti49 West Tripura45 Khowai24 North Tripura14 | 33,417 10 | 41 9 | 32,985 1 | 391 |
DistrictCases Churachandpur32 Kangpokpi26 Imphal West21 Thoubal18 Imphal East10 Tengnoupal9 Bishnupur7 Senapati6 Chandel5 Kamjong5 Ukhrul4 Jiribam3 Pherzawl3 Kakching2 Tamenglong2 Noney1 | 29,271 11 | 44 7 | 28,854 4 | 373 |
DistrictCases Chandigarh313 | 21,719 60 | 357 35 | 21,011 25 | 351 |
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 | 16,836 | 3 0 | 16,777 | 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 | 13,961 | 17 2 | 13,796 2 | 148 |
DistrictCases Dimapur20 Mon8 Kohima7 Kiphire3 Tuensang3 Peren2 Phek1 Longleng0 Mokokchung0 Wokha0 Zunheboto0 | 12,199 1 | 10 1 | 12,098 | 91 |
DistrictCases Kargil77 LehLadakh43 | 9,818 2 | 54 0 | 9,634 2 | 130 |
DistrictCases East District3 South District3 North District0 West District0 | 6,137 2 | 44 1 | 5,958 3 | 135 |
DistrictCases South Andamans33 Nicobars1 North And Middle Andaman1 | 5,018 1 | 4 1 | 4,952 | 62 |
DistrictCases Kolasib11 Aizawl10 Mamit8 Lawngtlai2 Lunglei2 Saitual1 Champhai0 Hnahthial0 Khawzawl0 Saiha0 Serchhip0 | 4,423 1 | 25 1 | 4,388 2 | 10 |
DistrictCases Dadra And Nagar Haveli20 | 3,406 | 4 0 | 3,400 | 2 |
DistrictCases Lakshadweep District0 | 359 26 | 98 18 | 260 8 | 1 |