INSACOG yet to detect presence of variant in India

INSACOG, a consortium of government institutions involved in the genome sequencing of the coronavirus, has not yet detected the presence of the new variant B.1.1.529 in India.

The consortium met on Friday to discuss the new Covid-19 variant found in South Africa. During the two-hour meeting, the experts discussed what the new strain may mean for vaccines and treatments. "We have reviewed our genome sequencing and no cases have yet been detected," said one of the members of INSACOG on condition of anonymity.

An advisory panel of the World Health Organization has classified the variant as a highly transmissible virus of concern and named it ``omicron'' under its Greek-letter system.


The variant has sparked serious concerns among experts as it has 32 mutations in the spike protein. The mutations can affect the virus' ability to spread and infect and could have implications for vaccine efficacy.

"It's unusual and can have serious impact on the transmission," said another member.

New Guidelines in Works
While INSACOG is monitoring the new variant, the government is said to be firming up a set of guidelines for international travellers in light of the new variant. People in the know, however, told ET that banning international travel is not on the cards.

"India is likely to impose strengthened measures in terms of imposing additional testing and screening for the travellers. The health ministry will soon come out with the guidelines," one of the persons said.

"The need of the hour is that all airports should be strictly monitored," said Rakesh Mishra, director, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society.

Samiran Panda, head of epidemiology and infectious diseases at the ICMR, said vaccination, social distancing and Covid-appropriate behaviour are crucial. "There is no need to panic. However, we should make sure that people get vaccinated and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour," he said.

Earlier, the South African authorities announced that they had detected a new variant with a "very unusual constellation" of mutations.

Following this, the union health ministry on Thursday directed states to rigorously screen and test travellers coming from or transiting through three countries in which the variant had been confirmed - South Africa, Botswana, and Hong Kong.