New Delhi: The ICMR and NCDC have reported that two strains are to blame for the recent surge in Covid cases; There has been no increase in hospitalizations or the severity of the disease so far, the government reported to Parliament on Friday.
According to information provided by the Union Minister of Health, JP Nadda, in Lok Sabha, 824 cases of the mutant strain Covid-19 KP were recorded as of August 5. Maharashtra recorded cases at 417, followed by West Bengal with 157 and Uttarakhand with 64.
These strains, KP. 1 and KP. 2, of the JN1 Omicron variant, Nadda said.
“It is highly transmissible and causes symptoms such as fever, cold, cough, sore throat, body aches and fatigue, which are not serious. There is no related cluster in hospitalizations or serious cases reported so far,” Nadda said. .
The government has taken steps to monitor the emergence of new strains, he said.
The minister said that the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) reported that the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) is a key task of the National Health Mission that carries out disease surveillance.
It is in all 36 states and union territories.
The program aims to track more than 40 epidemic-prone diseases, Nadda told the lower house.
“Ongoing surveillance and follow-up of emerging and re-emerging diseases is maintained,” he said.
Additionally, the Ministry of Health Research has authorized 163 virus studies and diagnostic laboratories in India for virus detection and studies.
The government has taken steps to meet the challenge posed by new emerging Covid-19 cases in the country, Nadda said.
Steps have been taken to improve infrastructure in the states and territories of the Union.
The Center has issued advisories to states regarding detection of COVID-19 variants like JN. 1 and pleaded with them to conduct sufficiently good testing in all districts in accordance with testing guidelines.
States were asked to keep a constant vigil on the Covid situation and were asked to ensure that testing was good enough, adding more number of RT-PCR tests and sending positive samples for genome sequencing to the INSACOG laboratories.
The NCDC reported that the India SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing Network (INSACOG) has carried out comprehensive genomic sequencing for the detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, Nadda said.
INSACOG is a consortium of laboratories and more than 400 sentinel sites to monitor SARS-CoV-2 genomic variations.
The NCDC acts as INSACOG’s lead company. In this regard, IDSP coordinates the submission of samples from states to Regional Genome Sequencing Laboratories (RGSLs) and provides feedback to states.
The IDSP also collects all the effects of genomic sequencing and communicates them to the respective states and Union Territories for action, along with key epidemiological data.
As of June 15, India has sequenced 3,36,892 (3. 36 lakh) SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes, of which 3,01,451 (3. 01 lakh) have been carried out through INSACOG, Nadda said.