A case of the Eta variant of SARS-CoV-2, a ‘Variant of Interest (VOI) confirmed in Karnataka. Here is everything we know about the new strain so far:
New COVID-19 strain confirmed in Karanataka
A case of the new COVID-19 strain popped up in Mangaluru, Karnataka from a sample collected 4 months ago. It was found in a man who had traveled to Qatar. “This is not the first case of Eta variant in the state,” stated Dr. V Ravi, the chairman of Committee for Covid-19 Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).
“It was first reported in April 2020 when the variant was detected in two samples at Nimhans’ virology lab through genomic sequencing in April 2020 and belonged to patients from Mangaluru,” he added. Another case popped up in Aizwal, Mizoram in July 20201.
What is the Eta variant?
The Eta variant is the same as B.1.525. It was first identified in Nigeria and the United Kingdom in December 2020, according to reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC classified it as a ‘Variant of Intrest’ (VOI. According to the CDC, the eta variant is “identified to cause significant community transmission or multiple COVID-19 clusters, in multiple countries with increasing relative prevalence alongside an increasing number of cases over time, or other apparent epidemiological impacts to suggest an emerging risk to global public health.”
Additionally, the new strain is very different from other COVID-19 strains. It contains both the F888L and E484K mutations. Moreover, the strain does not carry the N501Y mutation like the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma COVID-19 strains. However, it shares the N439K mutation with Gamma, Beta and, Zeta variants. Additionally, it carries deletions of histidine and valine at 69 and 70 positions. This is similar to the Alpha, N439K, and Y453K variants. Eta variant does not add to the concerns of the third wave in the Indian state as this is an old case.
