Bhubaneswar: Even as the top health officials in Odisha asked people not to panic over the revelation that three samples of the UK variant of concern (the B.1.1.7) lineage have been detected in the State, the time, however, is ripe to know what is the epidemiological behaviour of the imported UK strain and how to diagnose it via the symptoms.
The apex body National Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) that peers over the genome sequencing of Covid-19 virus in the country today disclosed that a massive 736 samples have been found with the new UK strain in India, including 3 in Odisha.
When 34 samples have been found with the South African variant (B.1.351), only 1 Brazilian (P.1)variant has been detected in the country.
None of the samples in Odisha tested positive for South African or Brazilian variant to date.
WHAT IS UK STRAIN?
As per the US-based Centre For Disease Control (CDC), the United Kingdom (UK) identified a variant called B.1.1.7 with a large number of mutations. It further observed,
"This variant spreads more easily and quickly than other variants. In January 2021, experts in the UK reported that this variant may be associated with an increased risk of death compared to other variant viruses, but more studies are needed to confirm this finding."
The CDC elaborates on the risks associated with the new UK strain. It said,
"An increase in the number of cases will put more strain on health care resources, and could lead to more hospitalizations, and potentially more deaths."
The Respite:
"So far, studies suggest that antibodies generated through vaccination with currently authorized vaccines recognize these variants. This is being closely investigated and more studies are underway." cautioned CDC.
SYMPTOMS OF UK STRAIN
- Apart from body aches, muscle pain, diarrhoea, cough and sore throat, UK experts have observed that a lot of COVID patients now report unbearable weakness as one of the initial sign of infection. Fatigue is a common sign with any viral infection, but in COVID cases, it's terrible to bear.
So watch out for the new signs --- If you feel dizziness, vertigo and related symptoms, go for a Covid-19 test. it could be the clinical manifestations caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus (UK strain)