- Doctors say that the new variants of the covid virus are causing pneumonia at an early stage
- Doctors treating the disease have been asked to be cautious by the Corona taskforce.
- 2 new mutations have been detected which aren’t similar to UK, South Africa, or Brazil variants.
- The rise in covid cases might be due to the greater spread of the new variants
- Special Screening for People Returning from UK, Brazil, and South Africa.
The new variants of covid19 are a serious matter of concern as doctors found out that they are causing pneumonia much earlier in the disease rather than the original covid virus, says reports from India.
Pneumonia in Early Stage
An advisor to the Maharashtra govt’s Covid-19 task force said the new strain of the virus is causing pneumonia in patients in the early stages of the disease.
A new mutated variant of the virus responsible for Covid-19 is causing pneumonia in the early stages of the disease in Maharashtra, an expert said on Friday.
Doctors Need To Be Vigilant
Dr. Subhash Salunkhe, the advisor to the Maharashtra government’s Covid-19 task force, said, “The new strain of the virus is also causing pneumonia in patients in the early stages of the disease. The death rate has not increased so far but we cannot say the situation will remain the same. Doctors have to take care of it.”
Mutated Virus Spreading Rapidly?
He added that the primary reason for a spike in Covid-19 cases in some districts is because people are taking the disease very lightly.
Dr. Salaunke said a possible explanation for the rapid rise in new cases in districts like Akola, Amravati, and Yavatmal could be because the virus has mutated and is spreading rapidly.
He however added that the Pune-based National Institute of Virology will confirm this.
New India Specific Mutations Detected
On Thursday, officials said two new mutations in the Covid-19 virus have been detected in the Amravati and Yavatmal districts of Maharashtra.
While the two new mutations were identified, officials said they were not the ones recently found in the UK, South Africa, or Brazil. On Friday, the state health department too issued a statement on this matter.
Special Screening for People Returning from Brazil, UK
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will soon start collecting samples from people returning from Brazil and South Africa — countries where new mutated strains of the virus were detected recently. It is already collecting samples of people returning from the UK.
On Thursday, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal announced that people traveling to Mumbai from Brazil will be kept in institutional quarantine.
Apart from this, the BMC has also decided to send 5 percent of Covid-19 positive samples to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology to test the presence of foreign strains.
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Source: IndiaToday
