New Delhi - Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) in Delhi conducted a study on the Omicron variant showing that the virus is mutating but the severity of the disease is mild.
In the investigation, 35 mutations were found included 3 insignificant mutations of the spike protein.
“This is some of the best Omicron research done by the Gene Sequencing Lab. The LNJP carried out a study on Omicron and sent data of 13 patients. We have compared the original virus from Wuhan, China. In the study, we found 35 mutations including 3 insignificant spike protein mutations in this variant, compared to 31-32 mutations in the South African variant. We did the gene sequencing and correlated it with the clinical results and found that these patients were either asymptomatic or mild in nature, ”said Dr. Suresh Kumar, Medical Director, LNJP.
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Dr Kumar said the study shows the virus is mutating and the severity of the disease is mild.
Speaking about the increase in COVID-19 cases in Delhi, the MD of LNJP said that, when the positivity is above 20%, it is an alarming situation and it means that people might needs beds and intensive care units for high-risk patients.
“The number of new cases in Delhi is increasing and we have seen a positivity of around 25%. We have seen more and more people come in with co-morbidities. When the positivity is above 20% the situation is alarming and it means that people may need intensive care units and beds for high risk patients. In the coming days, we see that more people will need to be hospitalized, ”he said.
In addition, he welcomed the decision of the Delhi government to close all restaurants in the national capital.
"It's a good step. I appreciate this decision because there are a lot of infections when we eat in a closed environment. Surfaces, tables, chairs are contaminated and while eating you do not wear a mask, so the chances of spread are much more This is a very important step and it will certainly help to slow the spread of the COVID virus, ”said Dr Kumar.
He also welcomed the latest guidance from the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) that anyone who has come in contact with a patient infected with COVID does not necessarily need to be tested for COVID-19, except if the person is in the “high level” risk category based on age or co-morbidities.
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"This is a good step. Most of the contacts have no illness, so there is no need to do any testing. If we have an health worker who is asymptomatic but positive, then we have to do a lot of contact testing which is not needed. ”he added.
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