11 Kappa variant of COVID-19 cases identified in Rajasthan, says state Health Min

As more fresh variants of COVID-19 are expected to emerge and infect people, in a recent update, Rajasthan has reported eleven cases of Kappa variant of COVID-19, informed the State Minister Rahgu Sharma on Tuesday, July 13. Among the infected patients, four are from Alwar and Jaipur each, two from Barmer, and one is from Bhilwara.

COVID-19 variants

Due to the nature of the virus, every time it mutates, a new variant will emerge. And in the case of COVID-19, every time it mutates and a new variant is formed, it poses high tension as it takes a longer time to understand the infection rate of the virus and treat the same. 

The second wave of COVID was threatening in India due to the Delta variant of COVID-19 which is riskier than the original. COVID Delta plus variant is a new mutant strain of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. This mutation can lead to clustering of infections, increased transmissibility, increased severity of infections, and improved binding of the virus to lung cells. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW), both Indian approved COVID vaccines, Covishield and COVAXIN function against SARS-CoV-2 variants including Delta (B.1.617.2) whereas, for Delta Plus (AY.1), the laboratory tests are under experimentation to check vaccine efficacy.

And now, contagious variants like Kappa and Lamda have raised concerns. In October 2020, the Kappa variant (B.1.167.1) was first reported in India. It is a double mutant strain of COVID-19, made of two viral types, E484Q mutation, and L452R mutation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified this variant as a 'variant of interest' due to its complex nature. Some of the symptoms of this variant infection include rashes, high fever, runny nose, and watery eyes.

Lambda variant has also been identified as a 'variant of interest' by the WHO. This variant of COVID-19 is not yet detected in India. There is no much information on this variant regarding its infections rate and response to treatment.

COVID situation in Rajasthan

To date, Rajasthan has reported a total of 9.53 lakhs COVID cases with 9.43 lakh recoveries and 8,945 deaths. 

The state has administered a total of 2,70,19,251 COVID vaccine doses across 1,663 vaccination sites.

(Image credit: DR RAGHU SHARMA/TWITTER/PTI)