Singed by ‘first UK strain’, Kolkata wary of 2nd transmission – Times of India

Kolkata: The state government is keeping a close watch on the emergence of the new strain of coronavirus that has put London under lockdown yet again. Sources in the health department indicated that experts will meet at Swasthya Bhawan on Tuesday to guide the state in its precautionary measures against the new strain.
A good number of students from Kolkata studies in the UK. And around this time, most tend to travel back home. In fact, the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Bengal was a UK-returned student. The second and third cases, too, were students who flew back from the UK.
“What we know so far is that this new strain is more infectious than the current one. We do not know yet about how differently it affects patients clinically. The new strain was expected,” said infectious diseases specialist Yogiraj Ray of Beliaghata ID Hospital.
An earlier study conducted jointly by the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics Kalyani, ICMR-NICED Kolkata and Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science had found that most nCov strain found in Bengal was a mutated sub-type found in Europe.
Experts believe that this new virus is 70% more infectious that other strains of coronavirus. “Even as we know that this new strain is more infectious, its virulence vis-à-vis the existing variant has not been confirmed. So we need to take all possible guards,” said Prabhas Prasun Giri, associate professor at the Institute of Child Health.
“There is a reason to be concerned but no need to press the panic button at this point of time. Initiatives like banning of flights from the UK is highly recommended. We have to give stress on more stringent quarantine policy even for those who come from other countries,” said public health expert Anirban Dalui.
Another concern is whether those already infected by the existing strain are vulnerable to infection by the new strain. “The mutant variant is spreading fast, rapidly replacing the existing strain. The viral genome is getting mutated and mutants have increased ability to transmit. Though it is not yet known if the mutant is new, there could also be cases of re-infection,” said infectious diseases control specialist Debkishore Gupta.
Both Ray and Gupta questioned if the vaccines that were being developed could have the kind of expected efficacy if this new strain replaces the existing one.