Delta variant predominant in five districts of J’khand: Report

Genome sequencing of samples of Covid-19 patients collected during the second wave from across five major districts of Jharkhand has shown prevalence of variants of concern (VoC) among 90% samples, with the Delta variant being the most predominant

Genome sequencing of samples of Covid-19 patients collected during the second wave from across five major districts of Jharkhand has shown prevalence of variants of concern (VoC) among 90% samples, with the Delta variant being the most predominant.

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Officials in the state health department said 364 samples collected in April and May this year from Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, and Palamu were sent for genome sequencing to Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar, out of which 328 reported prevalence of VoC.

“Out of the 364 samples, the Delta variant was the most predominant in 204 samples (accounting for 56% of the total samples analysed). Other dominating VoC were Kappa variant in 63 samples, and Alpha variant in 29 samples. The rest had other variants. Samples from other districts have also been sent to the Bhubaneswar lab, report of which is awaited,” said Siddharth Tripathi, nodal officer of the health department’s IEC (information, education, and communication) wing.

The second wave of Covid-19 pandemic hit the state this year in the last week of March and peaked towards April end. The April 29- May 5 week proved to be the deadliest for the state in terms of loss of lives, with 951 Covid-19 deaths, besides the highest weekly test positivity rate of 16.25%.

However, the maximum 44,133 cases were recorded in the preceding week beginning April 22.

The number of Covid-19 cases, fatalities and active cases have dipped considerably in the state now. As per the latest health department data, the state recorded 122 fresh cases on June 21 and it has 1,489 active cases, while one persons died of the infection.