India, UK Variants Equally Transmissible, Finds Study

Hyderabad: Public Health England, the executive agency of the UK department of health, has equated the novel coronavirus sub-lineage, B.1.617.2 of Indian variant or double mutant B.1.617, with the UK strain B.1.1.7 in terms of transmission rate.

- Syed Akbar

This sub-lineage was earlier declared as a ‘variant of concern’. Apart from the UK, the sub-lineage B.1.617.2 is prevalent in Maharashtra and other parts of India. Its presence, however, is yet to be established in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, though the main variant, B.1.617, is present in the Telugu states. The UK variant B.1.1.7 is also found in the Telugu states to a lesser extent.