Kappa variant of Covid-19 detected in Uttar Pradesh

Two cases of the Kappa variant of Covid 19, which was declared as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organisation (WHO), were detected in Uttar Pradesh, according to official sources on Friday.

The health officials said one of the patients, who was in his sixties and a resident of the neighbouring Sant Kabir Nagar district, in which the Kappa variant was detected, had died in the hospital. ''The patient had tested positive for Covid 19 on June 13... he died two days later,'' said a district health official in Gorakhpur.

Head of the Microbiology department at the Gorakhpur-based BRD Medical College, Dr Amaresh Singh said the Kappa variant was detected for the first time in UP.

''The travel history of the patient and his family members is being gathered so that they, and those who had come into contact with them, can also be tested,'' said a senior health official.

The Kappa variant was detected during genome sequencing of as many as 109 samples at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi.

Dr Singh said the Kappa variant spread faster, but was less dangerous than the Delta Plus variant.