After two cases of the Delta plus strain were found in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria and Gorakhpur, two cases of the Kappa variant were found in Sant Kabir Nagar on Friday, 9 July. One of the patients, a 66-year-old man, has died.
Citing an official statement, NDTV reported that the samples returned positive for the Kappa variant at Lucknow's King George medical college.
When asked about the Kappa variant, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad stated cases of this variant were found in the state earlier as well.
"There is nothing to worry about. This is a variant of coronavirus and its treatment is possible," PTI reported, quoting Prasad.
Amresh Singh, head of microbiology department at BRD Medical College, said the patient who passed away had tested positive on 27 May and was brought to the medical college on 12 June.
"The patient died in the course of treatment on 14 June. He had no travel history," Singh said.
Health officials said more than 2,000 samples have been sent for genome sequencing from the state.Two cases of Delta Plus strain were recorded for the first time in Uttar Pradesh this week.
Officials said that since none of the three patients had a travel history, it suggests the virus has been mutating in the state.
Like Delta plus, Kappa too has been declared as a variant of concern.
According to experts, the Kappa variant or the double mutant strain of the virus, known as B.1.167.1, has raised red flags and led to widespread gene surveillance to look for its prevalence and spread.
The double mutation comprises of two variants of the virus, making it a distance lineage. These include the E484Q mutation, which is similar to another variant, the E484K, found in the fast-spreading Brazilian and South African variants of concern. It also includes the L452R mutation, which helps the virus escape our body’s natural immune response.
(With inputs from IANS and NDTV)
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