COVID-19: New Wuhan Virus Variant Found in India

New Delhi- India reports more than 20 million cases of the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic, the second country after the United States to have crossed the grim milestone. 

While it took more than 10 months for India to add the first 10 million cases of the novel coronavirus, it took only four months to add another 10 million cases to its tally, more than double the pace of infection which gives us an alarming indication of how fast the virus is spreading. 

In the last 24 hours, India reported over 3.82 lakh new cases of the novel coronavirus taking the total tally of cases in the country to hot over 2.06 crores. India has also witnessed the highest single-day spike in the cases of COVID-induced fatalities amounting to 3,780, taking the total death toll to 2,26,188. The active COVID-19 cases in India now amount to over 34.94 lakhs. The massive surge in the cases of this deadly infectious disease continues to exert tremendous pressure on the healthcare infrastructure of the country. 

There are reports of a new mutation of the novel coronavirus, called the N440K variant or the AP variant, in reference to the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh where the virus was first traced. 

Reports say that this new mutant variant has already spread beyond the state of Andhra Pradesh. It has been found in 20 to 30% of the samples tested in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

As per the initial observation, this new N440K variant is said to be 15 times more 'virulent' than the earlier mutations meaning it spreads faster, has a shorter incubation period and the infection spreads much more rapidly within the human body. More studies are being conducted to confirm these findings. 

This is worrisome not only for India but for the entire world as there is no telling which form or shape does this virus further takes next. 

The most effective way to combat this deadly infectious disease is through an efficient and rapid vaccination process. 

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