COVID-19 strain with a double mutation has reached Canada
A variant of the virus was first detected in India.
The so-called "double mutant" Indian strain COVID-19, or strain B.1.617, has been found in Canada. The country already has dozens of cases of infection.
Last week, 39 cases were confirmed in British Columbia and 36 in Ontario. Other cases were detected in Quebec and Alberta. Because of growing concerns about a new variant of the virus, Canada has suspended air travel with India and Pakistan for 30 days.
So far, Health Canada has not considered B.1.617 to be a strain of concern, but ministers say they are monitoring the situation.
"We have a lot to worry about," said Donald Vigne, an infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist at McGill University Medical Center. — If a variant of the virus can get into another country, that means it has some ability to survive and is likely more contagious than the current strain."
Variant B.1.617 was detected in India late last year. It has two mutations that the Indian Ministry of Health and Welfare claims make it transmissible more quickly and immune to it. Vaccines against it are also supposed to be less effective. For example, a person who was infected with the Indian strain in Quebec was vaccinated.
Scientists believe that it is variant B.1.617 that has contributed to a surge of disease in India: the number of new cases of infection is increasing daily, and on April 25, 2021 reached 352,991 per day.
The new strain has also been reported in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Belgium, and the United States.
