<p class="bodytext">There are more than 7,000 coronavirus mutations in India of which some could pose a serious risk, a senior scientist said on Monday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rakesh Mishra, Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, said among the variants, N440K is spreading a lot more in the southern states.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The CCMB alone has done an exhaustive analysis of over 5,000 coronavirus variants in India and how they have evolved over the course of the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/astrazeneca-vaccine-reduced-covid-19-hospitalisation-risk-by-94-scotland-study-shows-954141.html">AstraZeneca vaccine reduced Covid-19 hospitalisation risk by 94%, Scotland study shows</a></strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">A team of the CCMB scientists also published a paper on their findings – “SARS-CoV-2 genomics: An Indian perspective on sequencing viral variants”.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“There are more than 7,000 coronavirus mutations in the country,” said Mishra, who is also one of the co-authors of the paper.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Hyderabad-based institute has been studying the evolution of the virus, its mutations and strains ever since the pandemic hit the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mishra, however, added that not every mutation becomes a variant.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He added that it is necessary to step up sequencing.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/astrazeneca/oxford-vaccine-more-effective-with-three-month-dose-gap-study-953160.html" target="_blank">AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine more effective with three-month dose gap: Study</a></strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">“India has so far not been sequencing SARSCoV-2 isolates to full capacity, having deposited only about 6,400 genomes of the over 10.4 million recorded cases (0.06 per cent).</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Exploiting advances in genomic epidemiology by monitoring and increasing sequencing efforts following local spikes will go a long way in staying on top of mutations of concern while their biology and effects are studied in greater detail,” the paper said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After the evolution of the UK and Brazilian strains of coronavirus which are found to be more transmissible, the Indian government stepped up sequencing of the genomes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG) comprising 10 institutes was also formed for this purpose. The CCMB is a part of the consortium.</p>
<p class="bodytext">There are more than 7,000 coronavirus mutations in India of which some could pose a serious risk, a senior scientist said on Monday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Rakesh Mishra, Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, said among the variants, N440K is spreading a lot more in the southern states.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The CCMB alone has done an exhaustive analysis of over 5,000 coronavirus variants in India and how they have evolved over the course of the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/astrazeneca-vaccine-reduced-covid-19-hospitalisation-risk-by-94-scotland-study-shows-954141.html">AstraZeneca vaccine reduced Covid-19 hospitalisation risk by 94%, Scotland study shows</a></strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">A team of the CCMB scientists also published a paper on their findings – “SARS-CoV-2 genomics: An Indian perspective on sequencing viral variants”.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“There are more than 7,000 coronavirus mutations in the country,” said Mishra, who is also one of the co-authors of the paper.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Hyderabad-based institute has been studying the evolution of the virus, its mutations and strains ever since the pandemic hit the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mishra, however, added that not every mutation becomes a variant.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He added that it is necessary to step up sequencing.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/astrazeneca/oxford-vaccine-more-effective-with-three-month-dose-gap-study-953160.html" target="_blank">AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine more effective with three-month dose gap: Study</a></strong></p>.<p class="bodytext">“India has so far not been sequencing SARSCoV-2 isolates to full capacity, having deposited only about 6,400 genomes of the over 10.4 million recorded cases (0.06 per cent).</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Exploiting advances in genomic epidemiology by monitoring and increasing sequencing efforts following local spikes will go a long way in staying on top of mutations of concern while their biology and effects are studied in greater detail,” the paper said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After the evolution of the UK and Brazilian strains of coronavirus which are found to be more transmissible, the Indian government stepped up sequencing of the genomes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">An Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG) comprising 10 institutes was also formed for this purpose. The CCMB is a part of the consortium.</p>