New 'very infectious' covid strain spreading fast among younger age group in South India
News Network
May 6, 2021
The very infectious strains of coronavirus, B.1.617 and B.1, are currently found in the Covid-19 positives in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana and spreading fast in younger age groups, apart from adults.
The N440K is neither a 'variant of interest' nor is virulent now, the state Health Department has said quoting a study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.
"The major strains identified from the samples of south India (AP, Karnataka, Telangana), from the positives of the April month data, are B.1.617 and B.1, which are very infectious and also spreading in the younger age groups apart from the adults. It is pertinent to note that Covid-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update of April 25, issued by WHO, mentions about lineage B.1.617 as VOI (Variant of Interest) from India and doesn't mention about variant N440K," AP Covid Command and Control Centre Chairman K S Jawahar Reddy said in a statement.