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In its weekly report, the World Health Organization takes stock of the situation of the Indian variant in the world. According to her, the B.1.617 variant has been detected in at least 17 countries, including some European countries.
Indian variant detected in at least 17 countries
While India is facing an explosion of cases of Covid-19 on its territory, having even reached a world record of nearly 360,000 new contaminations identified on Wednesday according to official data, the World Health Organization makes the inventory of the situation of the Indian variant in the world. This Tuesday, April 27, 2021, she announced that the Indian variant, also called variant B.1.617 has been detected in more than 1,200 genome sequences, in ” at least 17 countries “.
In its weekly report on the pandemic, the WHO provides details on the countries concerned: “ Most of the footage uploaded to the Gisaid database comes from India, UK, USA and Singapore “. But in recent days, the Indian variant has also been reported in several European countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Greece and Italy. For the time being, the Indian variant has not yet been reported in France. Following a visit to the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency which took place yesterday, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran declared: “ At the time of writing, no case of a variant of Indian origin has been identified in metropolitan France. “.
A high growth rate which suggests greater contagiousness
According to preliminary WHO modeling, which is based on the sequences submitted to Gisaid, “ B.1.617 has a higher growth rate than other variants circulating in India, suggesting greater contagiousness “. Recently, the WHO classified the Indian variant as a ” variant of interest ” and no ” a worrying variant “. A name which could indicate that the Indian variant is more dangerous because it is more contagious, more lethal and able to escape vaccine immunizations.
However, further research is “ urgently needed To understand the role it plays in the health crisis in India. Indeed, the WHO recalls that ” other pipes May also be behind the upsurge in cases in India, such as the failure to comply with health restrictions and the mass rallies that have taken place in recent weeks across the country. In addition, the Organization emphasizes that other variants currently in circulation are also highly contagious, but that the combination of these two factors “ could play a role in the resurgence of cases ” in India.