Two strains responsible for surge in Covid cases, no increase in hospitalisations: Govt

NEW DELHI: The ICMR and the NCDC informed that two strains have been responsible for the recent surge in Covid cases, though there is no increase in hospitalisations or severity of illness so far, the government informed Parliament on Friday.

According to data provided by Union Health Minister JP Nadda in the Lok Sabha, 824 cases of the COVID-19 KP mutant strain were recorded till August 5. Maharashtra had the highest cases with 417, followed by West Bengal with 157 and Uttarakhand with 64.

These strains -- KP.1 and KP.2 -- have evolved from the JN1 Omicron variant, Nadda said.

"It is highly transmissible that causes symptoms such as fever, cold, cough, sore throat, body ache and fatigue, which are generally not severe. There is no associated increase in hospitalisations or severe cases reported thus far," Nadda said.

The government has taken measures to monitor the spread of new strains, he said.

The minister said the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) informed that the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) was a key project under the National Health Mission that conducted disease surveillance.

It is implemented in all 36 states and Union territories.

The programme is responsible for the surveillance of 40-plus epidemic-prone diseases, Nadda told the Lower House.

"Continuous watch and monitoring is maintained for emerging and re-emerging diseases situation," he asserted.

Further, the Department of Health Research has sanctioned 163 Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories around India to improve virus detection and research.

The government has taken various actions to face the challenge in regard to the surge in fresh COVID-19 cases in the country, Nadda said.

Steps have been taken to improve healthcare infrastructure in states and Union territories.

The Centre has issued advisories to the states in view of the detection of COVID-19 variants such as JN.1 and advised them to ensure adequate testing in all districts, according to the testing guidelines.

The states were urged to maintain constant vigil over the Covid situation and advised to ensure adequate testing, including a higher number of RT-PCR tests, and send positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG laboratories.

The NCDC has informed that the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing (INSACOG) network conducted whole genomic sequencing for timely detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, Nadda stated.

INSACOG is a consortium of 67 laboratories and 400-plus sentinel sites to monitor the genomic variations in SARS-CoV-2.

The NCDC acts as the lead agency for INSACOG. In this regard, the IDSP coordinates the flow of samples from states to Regional Genome Sequencing Labs (RGSLs) and provides feedback to the states.

The IDSP also collates the whole genomic sequencing results and reports it to the respective states and Union territories for necessary action, along with key epidemiological inputs.

Till June 15, India sequenced 3,36,892 (3.36 lakh) SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes, out of which 3,01,451 (3.01 lakh) were done by INSACOG, Nadda said.