'Double mutant' in 61% of samples tested in Maharashtra, official says likely behind second wave

Maharashtra, with around 5.64 lakh active cases, accounts for nearly 45 percent of the country's active caseload (Image: AP)

The 'double mutant' of coronavirus was detected in 61 percent of COVID-19 samples of Maharashtra sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, between January and March, a report said on April 14.

Out of the 361 samples that were taken from Maharashtra during the three-month period, 220 were found with the E484Q and L452R mutations, The Indian Express reported. They are being referred to as the double mutant or B.1.617 lineage.

The data was shared by the NIV during a presentation with district heads of government laboratories in Maharashtra on April 10. After taking cognisance of the data, the state government reportedly asked the Centre for a detailed report on the genome sequencing of all the Maharashtra samples.

An official speaking to the daily claimed that the double mutant could likely be responsible for the second wave of infections. The state has been constantly reporting over 50,000 cases a day over the past few days, and the daily numbers had peaked to an all-time high of 63,294 on April 11.

Maharashtra Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas, while speaking to The Indian Express, said the Centre has so far maintained that "there is no need to change the strategy" amid the double mutation fears.

Dr Sujeet Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control, however, claimed that the fresh spike in infections cannot be linked to the double mutant due to the lack of sufficient data. "The number of samples are very few from these districts and therefore we cannot directly conclude that the surge is caused by the variant," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Explained | Double mutation of Maharashtra -- how was it identified and how dangerous is it?

The Union health ministry had, on March 24, flagged the presence of a double mutant variant and 771 'variants of concern (VOCs)' in 18 Indian states. The double mutant was then detected in "15-20 percent of the samples" from Maharashtra.

Out of the 771 VOCs, 736 samples were positive for viruses of the UK (B.1.1.7) lineage, and 34 were found positive for viruses of the South African (B.1.351) lineage and one was found positive for viruses of the Brazilian (P.1.) lineage.