World Health Organisation Classifies Indian Covid Strain B-1617 As A
The B-1617 variant of coronavirus, first identified in India, has been classified as a “variant of concern” at the global level by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Covid-19 Technical Lead at WHO, on Monday said that the B.1.617 virus variant had been classified as a “variant of interest” by the WHO.
She said the Epi team and WHO lab team has been discussing with the WHO virus evolution working group this variant, and everything that “we know about it in terms of transmissibility and any studies that are being done in India as well as in other countries” where this virus is circulating.
“In consultation with our virus evolution working group, and our Epi teams and our lab teams internally, there is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of B-1617; as such we are classifying this as a variant of concern at the global level,” she said.
She added that even though there is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies, “we need much more information about this virus variant in this lineage, so we need more targeted sequencing to be done, and to be shared in India and elsewhere so that we know how much of this virus is circulating”.
Van Kerkhove said there is need for more information on the epidemiologic studies that are underway, the studies that are evaluating neutralization severity. “So far, from information that we have (is) the public health and social measures work, but we need to work that much harder to control any virus variants that have demonstrated increased transmissibility,” she said, adding that the WHO does not have anything to suggest that “our diagnostics or therapeutics and our vaccines don’t work”.
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