Kerala on high alert as 3 villages report cases of Delta Plus variant

In Palakkad, the variant was detected in two women in their 50s and both of them tested negative later. Palakkad DMO K P Reetha said their primary contacts tested negative and a massive testing drive was going on in the area.

Nearly three villages in Kerala have been put under lockdown after a genome sequencing study detected the presence of the highly infectious Delta Plus variant in some Covid-19 patients. Experts have warned that the new variant is very infectious, displays strong binding to receptors of lung cells and affects monoclonal anti-bodies rapidly.

A health worker collects a swab sample of a passenger for a Covid-19 test at a railway station in Kerala on Wednesday. (PTI PHOTO.)

The detection of the new variant occurred at a time when cases have dipped and the government has just started opening up several sectors that were under lockdown for more than 40 days. One case was reported from Pathanamitta and two others from Palakkad district.

“In Pathanamitta it was found in a four-year-old boy in Kadapra village and he’s tested negative now. We have cordoned off the area and all residents are undergoing RT-PCR tests. We have examined the travel history of the family and it seems mutation might have taken place locally,” said district medical officer Dr A L Sheeja. She said many patients from the area were earlier infected with Delta variant and mutation might have taken place locally.

In Palakkad, the variant was detected in two women in their 50s and both of them tested negative later. Palakkad DMO K P Reetha said their primary contacts tested negative and a massive testing drive was going on in the area. District collector Mrunami Joshi said two villages Parali and Pariyari will be closed for a week and all residents will have to undergo RT-PCR tests.

India is among ten countries where the Delta Plus variant has been found so far. There are over 40 cases of the new variant in the country, which has been tagged as a “variant of concern” by the Union health ministry. The states which have so far reported cases of the Delta Plus variant include Maharashtra with nearly 21 people infected, Kerala and pockets of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The Centre has advised the chief secretaries of these states to take up immediate containment measures in the districts where the new variant has been found, including preventing crowds and intermingling of people, widespread testing, prompt tracing as well as vaccine coverage of the local population on a priority basis.

Very little is known about the virus currently. Head of the national experts group on vaccination and Niti Aayog member VK Paul said on Tuesday that the affected states have been sent advisories and asked to step up vigil. According to experts, the new variant is a mutant version of the B. 1.617. strain but there is little evidence on how virulent the strain is. After some preliminary studies in Maharashtra, experts found that the transmission rate was extremely high and the new strain reduces monoclonal antibody response.