Category: Health
India: 16% vaccine breakthrough in Delhi hospital #coronavirus study
A small-scale study on 113 healthcare workers who had received at least one vaccine dose at a private hospital in Delhi found that 18 tested positive for Covid but all except one had mild symptoms. Of the 113 in the study, 107 had received the second dose of the vaccine.
Taken in percentage form, the study found that breakthrough infections — Covid infection in vaccinated individuals — occurred in 15.9 per cent (18 persons) of the vaccinated individuals and 95 per cent had mild symptoms. Of these, 17 incurred the infection after the second dose. According to the study, of the breakthrough infections in 18 persons, 17 incurred the infection after the second dose. These 17 had got their second dose after a mean of 34.8 days following the first jab.
Image by shalender kumar from Pixabay
Maldives: 60% positivity rate in Greater Male – “High chance of new #coronavirus variant”
The Maldives Health Protection Agency revealed on Sunday that three out of five samples tested in Greater Male’ Area result in a COVID positive case. Within a two week period, HPA said, the positivity rate at flu clinics have increased by four times.
Maldives is currently in its worst COVID wave to date. With 9,433 active cases, this is the highest the figure has been. Currently, 250 people are hospitalized, Maldives have seen 84 fatalities so far. In February 2020, Maldives started it’s vaccination program, and so far 300,906 people from a population of 531,000 have been given the first dose of the vaccine while 130,886 people have received the second dose.
On average, 80 children below the age of 10 are found to be positive EVERY DAY. This includes 4 to 5 children who are less than a year old.
Definitely a new strain. Looks more infective. Affecting the lungs more vigorously. Deteriorates faster.
Simple steps:
1. Reduce your contact bubble.2. Mask up Maldives!
3. A clean hands.
Above all pray to Allah#MaskupMaldives
— Dr. Mohamed Ali (@Moxamedalu) May 7, 2021
WHO: B.1.617 Indian #coronavirus strain is now a Variant of Concern or VOC
A World Health Organization official said Monday it is reclassifying the Indian Sars-Cov-2 variant B.1.617 as a “variant of concern,” indicating that it’s become a global health threat. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19, said the agency will provide more details in its weekly situation report on the pandemic Tuesday but added that the variant, known as B.1.617, has been found in preliminary studies to spread more easily than the original virus and there is some evidence it may able to evade vaccines.
“as such we are classifying this as a variant of concern at the global level,” she said during a press conference. “Even though there is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies, we need much more information about this virus variant in this lineage in all of the sub lineages, so we need more sequencing, targeted sequencing to be done.”
Belgium: Five fully vaccinated care home residents infected with B.1.617.3 in vaccine breakthrough outbreak
Five residents of a care home in Borsbeek in Antwerp province have been infected with the so-called Indian variants of Covid-19, according to the Flemish Agency for Health and Care. One of those affected has died. All of the home’s residents have been fully vaccinated.
In three of the cases involved in the new outbreak, the Indian variant has been confirmed, and it is supposed the same goes for the other two. One has since died, and another is in hospital.
Image by meineresterampe from Pixabay
Brazil: new #coronavirus strain P.1.2 confirmed circulating in Rio de Janeiro
The State Department of Health of Rio de Janeiro (SES-RJ) announced the identification of the new variant of the Covid virus in Rio de Janeiro late this morning. The strain received the name of P.1.2, because it is a change that occurred in the P.1 line – which appeared in Manaus.
“The objective of the study is to foresee the evaluation of the epidemiological scenario in the state of Rio de Janeiro to anticipate possible genomic alterations of the already known variants and to prepare the state and the municipalities to face any alteration that may change the pattern of the disease”, he affirmed. the superintendent of Epidemiological Surveillance of the Secretary of State for Health, Mário Sérgio Ribeiro.
Also according to the superintendent, still it is not possible to know whether P.1.2 is more lethal or more transmissible . The epidemiological impact is yet to be assessed.
The technical note of the state presents the genomic study with samples carried out between March 24th and April 16th. The study was carried out in partnership between the Lacen-RJ laboratory and the State Department of Health. According to the City Hall of Rio das Ostras, variants P.1 and P.2 have already been confirmed, previously, in the city.
“The presence of these variants in the municipality and the emergence of a new strain reinforce the importance of surveillance and monitoring of virus dispersions, the need to maintain all measures to prevent contagion and to maintain sanitary barriers”, warned the municipality.
Local TV report on Brazilian variant P.1.2 : https://globoplay.globo.com/v/9499613/ (in Brazilian)
Image by Andrea Meakin from Pixabay
USA: 3,084 #coronavirus vaccine breakthrough cases in California
Between Jan. 1 and April 28, California public health officials recorded 3,084 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 in people who were fully vaccinated. That’s out of 12.9 million people who were fully vaccinated. “As more time passes and more people are fully vaccinated, it is likely that additional post-vaccination cases will occur,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. “The number of post-vaccination cases remains small.”
CDC: 9,245 #coronavirus vaccine breakthough cases in the USA
India: two lionesses at Etawah safari park test positive for #coronavirus
A statement issued by the office of Director of Etawah Safari in Uttar Pradesh, India yesterday stated two lionesses at Etawah safari park have been tested positive for coronavirus and their treatment has begun as advised by experts. It also stated the condition of both animals is normal. Both the lionesses have been down with fever for some time and have been under treatment from vets.
On May 5, authorities of Etawah Safari sent samples of 14 lions and lionesses to IVRI for tests after two of them fell sick.
India: Eight Asiatic Lions test positive for #coronavirus at Hyderabad Zoo
Photo by Moe Thet Oo on Unsplash
India: #coronavirus death toll equivalent to a Nagasaki atom bomb every ten days
Covid-19 deaths In India rose by more than 4,000 for a second consecutive day on Sunday (May 9) as calls for a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the virus mounted. India’s health ministry reported 4,092 fatalities over the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 242,362. New cases rose by 403,738, just shy of the record and increasing the total since the start of the pandemic to 22.3 million.
An estimated 35,000–40,000 people were killed outright by the bombing at Nagasaki.
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
India: B1617 twice as infectious UK #coronavirus variant B117
Image by George R. Caron – Nagasakibomb.jpg Atomic_cloud_over_Hiroshima.jpg, Public Domain, Link
India: Black fungus Mucormycosis with 50% mortality rate affecting #coronavirus patients
Black fungus infection Mucormycosis has been on the rise among Covid-19 patients in Ahmedabad for the last 15-20 days, doctors have said. Around 67 patients are being treated for the same in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) ward of BJ Medical College and 45 of them are scheduled to undergo surgery, Dr Kalpesh Patel, associate professor in the hospital told news agency ANI on Saturday.
“There’s been a rise in cases of mucormycosis in Covid patients for the last 15-20 days. Currently, 67 patients are in the ENT ward alone. Of which, 45 are yet to undergo surgery. We’re conducting 5-7 operations daily,” said Dr Patel.
Doctor believe mucormycosis, which has an overall mortality rate of 50%, may be being triggered by the use of steroids, a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients.
Steroids reduce inflammation in the lungs for Covid-19 and appear to help stop some of the damage that can happen when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive to fight off coronavirus. But they also reduce immunity and push up blood sugar levels in both diabetics and non-diabetic Covid-19 patients. It’s thought that this drop in immunity could be triggering these cases of mucormycosis.
Image by Doc. RNDr. Josef Reischig, CSc. Author’s archive, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
India: B1617 twice as infectious as UK #coronavirus variant B117
Early indications from an analysis of the growth of the B.1.617 variant of the Covid-19 virus has shown it to be at least twice as infectious as the UK variant and thrice as infectious as the variant behind last year’s Covid-19 wave.
Scientists involved in the whole genome sequencing as part of the Centre’s Covid-19 genomic surveillance exercise told The New Indian Express that this conclusion is based on the growth of this mutant, as compared to others, in districts where B.1.617 has been identified along with other variants in samples collected from infected individuals.
“We have been examining this data carefully and the way this lineage of virus, also called the double mutant, is growing as compared to others is remarkable,” said a senior scientist involved in the INSACOG project, a consortium of several institutions under the National Centre for Disease Control that carry out an extensive genomic surveillance. “For the public, what needs to be communicated very clearly is that there is a greater need to double mask and maintain social distancing as this virus is highly infectious.
** Update ** Tom Wenseleers: “Based on this data, the new variant from India has a very big transmission or growth advantage,” even over B.1.1.7, he says. “It’s kind of like the U.K. variant squared.”
UK: Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 already outcompeting B.1.1.7 in some areas of Britain
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK government poised to declare Indian #coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Brazil: P.1 mutates into new #coronavirus variant P.1.2
A new variant of the Brazilian coronavirus has been identified this week, according to Rio de Janeiro health authorities. The P1 Manaus strain seems to have mutated. Hence, the new version has been named P.1.2., scientists in Rio said.
The new variant P.1.2 was identified in 5.85% of the 376 samples taken in 57 municipalities of the state of Rio, second only to São Paulo in the total number of cases nationwide.
“So far it cannot be said that this variant is more contagious or lethal, which is a mutation of P1,” Rio State Health Undersecretary Claudia Mello said in a statement. She also explained that “the new variant was found mainly in the northern region of the state of Rio de Janeiro, but also the metropolitan area and coastal municipalities.”
The new variant of Covid-19 was discovered during an investigation to identify which strains of the virus more circulate in the state. P1 remains in almost all regions and P2 in the north and in the lowlands. 376 samples were investigated, from 57 municipalities, selected from genomes sent to the Noel Nutels Central Laboratory (Lacen / RJ), between March 24th and April 16th.
Brazil: rapid spread and high impact of the #coronavirus VOC P.1 in Sao Paulo – March 2021
Image by Heiko Behn from Pixabay
UK: Indian #coronavirus variant B.1.617.2 already outcompeting B.1.1.7 in some areas of Britain
UK GOV: “B.1.617.2 has spread rapidly in India based on available data. There have been multiple importations to the UK and onwards transmission within the UK. In some regions, S gene target data suggests that this variant may be more frequent than is indicated by the current sequence data, due to the lag in sequencing, and may have replaced B.1.1.7 to some extent. Modelled growth estimates suggest that the variant is at least as transmissible as B.1.1.7. Further analyses are required with targeted comparator groups and improved correction for importation to refine the position on transmissibility. Some early laboratory data suggest limited antigenic change. There are insufficient data as yet to assess reinfection or vaccine effectiveness through national surveillance.”
UK.GOV: SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England, Technical briefing 10 (PDF download)
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
UK: India is added to travel “red list” three weeks too late
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
UK: surge testing for Indian #coronavirus VOC B.1.617.2 begins in Bolton as some areas see 500% increase in cases
Mobile Covid-19 testing units are being rolled out in Bolton as surge testing gets underway in the borough’s coronavirus hotspots. People in Rumworth, Deane or Great Lever are being urged to get tested at the units. Infection rates in those areas have increased, with Rumworth South seeing cases rocket by 500 per cent, with an infection rate of 359.3 per 100,000 people. In Lever Edge, part of Great Lever, cases have increased by 40 per cent.
Bolton currently has the second highest infection rate in the UK.
UK: B.1.617 found in 24% of #coronavirus sequences in Bolton, mostly new VOC B.1.617.2
India: The stunning rise of the B.1.617.2 #coronavirus variant
Image by David Reed from Pixabay
Nepal: highest-ever number of new #coronavirus cases in last 24 hours at 9,196
Nepal recorded a total of 9,196 new cases of coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 9,023 persons have been tested positive for COVID-19 through the RT-PCR method while 173 have been tested positive through the Antigen method. According to the Ministry, 3,089 persons in Kathmandu, 643 in Lalitpur, and 374 in Bhaktapur have been tested positive for the pandemic virus, making the capital valley’s fresh coronavirus cases 4,106 in past 24 hours.
According to the Ministry, 50 people have succumbed to COVID-19 related death in past 24 hours taking the death tally to 3,579 as of Friday afternoon.
Nepal: new #coronavirus daily case rate still closely tied to India’s outbreak
Nepal: rise in #coronavirus cases has similar trajectory to India driven by B117 and B1617
Graph courtesy of OurWorldInData.org