Coronavirus | CCMB chief Mishra says cases are increasing due to negligence of people

Rakesh Mishra, director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), spoke exclusively to Morning Tidings about concerns about the current rise of COVID cases in India and how the virus manifested differently in different people Is occurring and currently has a possible role of mutation. Escalation of cases. The CCMB has been analyzing coronovirus variants in India, studying the evolution of the virus, its mutations and strains since the epidemic hit the country. The CCMB is also part of the SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG), which consists of 10 institutions, established by the central government for the sequencing of the coronovirus genome.

What is the case of the increasing cases in states like Kerala and Maharashtra?

Although we have not found a concrete reason for this, there may be some possibilities. One, this boom is caused by a more variable version from outside India, but we have no such indication. About 300 cases of new variants are unimportant in the country.

The second possibility is of a new version emerging within the country. To confirm this possibility, we need to analyze a large number of people for a long period of time. But since we have not found any normal change or normal change in the cases that occur, it is rarely the cause. And the third possibility is that people are not taking adequate preventive measures. OK, we think there are high chances of it getting right. This can be a chain reaction, and a sudden increase of cases.

Kerala initially controlled the epidemic very rapidly, meaning that many people were not infected or exposed to the virus in the state and therefore many did not develop protective antibodies. This means that a lot of people in the state can catch the infection. Although people across the country are becoming complacent, many cases of COVID may occur in the same degree of indiscipline on behalf of people in a state like Kerala.

This is the same time last year when there was an increase in Kovid cases. Now cases are increasing again. Can we see another wave? How important is vaccination?

Another wave is always possible. As it is summer in India, people prefer to stay indoors, switch on their AC and cooler and then go out in the evening. This may increase the infection. But the relationship between last year and this year can only be a coincidence.

Given the trend of increasing cases, one thing is very clear that these are due to negligence on the part of people and we can easily prevent the spread by following COVID-inappropriate behavior including wearing masks, washing hands, avoiding large gatherings , Avoiding indoor crowding.

Vaccination is a powerful tool and I think the vaccination campaign has gone well so far. But now we can think of opening it in the private sector so that we can reach a large number of people in a short time. If we can double or triple the number of people who get vaccinated, then we can effectively stop or stop the spread of COVID.

Kovids are also appearing differently in different people. Why?

It is the least understood part of COVID. Most of our time so far has gone into fighting this disease and managing it. Now we need to do serious studies to understand the clinical features of the disease, how it affects the organs, it affects all the organs, etc. We need to study how it deals with different co-morbidities in different people. It will take us a few years to explain every aspect of the disease.

This virus binds the S2 receptor, a protein sitting on the cell surface, to gain entry into the cell. Depending on the health status of the individual and the expression level of the receptor on a given cell type, it may cause more damage to some organs than to others.

Recently, stress has been found in India from South Africa, Britain, Brazil. Is this a cause for concern for us?

In most of these cases, the source of infection is from outside India. We examined several other samples of people who currently tested positive for Kovid, we did not find any of these variants, meaning there is no prevalence of variants in the country. Therefore, until now it is not a cause for concern.

It also means that the increase in recent cases is not due to these new types; This is because people have lowered their guard, become complacent, and are not following Kovid’s criteria.

How do we keep track of viruses?

There are many ways to track viruses. We have discovered an interesting and easy way to see its presence and prevalence in a locality. We can detect virus RNA in sewage samples, and by studying the number of RNA molecules present, we can tell what percentage of people in an area have an infection. This is a very fast way to track a virus. Recently, we were able to validate this method of measuring the level of infection in a population by sero-survey method. We may be able to use this method to track other pathogens.

Can a virus mutation cause infection?

In the UK the 501Y mutation has shown an increase in the number of infections but not re-infection. Even in Brazil, there are not many cases of revision. In fact, around the world, deficiencies are few. But this is the current situation, it does not mean that more round mutations will not lead to re-infection. Therefore, it is important that we keep a close watch and prevent the spread of disease by social vaccines of masks, hand hygiene and social disturbances, especially to avoid clustering of people in closed spaces.