Indian Covid-19 strain found in 3 Mideast countries: WHO

Dubai - WHO bats for more studies to understand spread of the Indian variant of the contagion

The new Covid-19 variant that is believed to have originated in India has already been reported in Bahrain, Jordan, and Morocco, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official told Khaleej Times.

Dr. Amgad El Kholy, an epidemiologist with WHO, said the Indian variant was reported in three countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region and urged for more studies to understand the spread of this variant of the contagion.

“We need more targeted sequencing to be done --- and to be shared --- in India and elsewhere so we know how much of this variant is circulating,” said Dr. ElKholy while advocating adherence to preventive measures.

The United Nations (UN) health agency on Wednesday said the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19, known as the ‘Indian variant’ had been detected in more than 4,500 samples uploaded to an open-access database from 44 countries in all six WHO regions.

The variant has also been detected in five additional countries, the agency said.

There is no evidence yet of the variant found in the UAE yet.

Last week, WHO classified the Indian variant as a ‘Variant of Concern’ (VoC) owing to evidence of increased transmissibility.

“There has been an increasing rate of detection of this variant, along with a surge in Covid-19 cases in parts of India. However, the relative contribution of this variant in the rapid increase of cases in the country remains unclear,” said Dr. El Khory.