AS COVID-related deaths exceed 4,000 a day in India, the World Health Organization says a coronavirus variant first found in that nation is of global concern. “We are classifying this as a variant of concern at a global level,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, told a briefing on Monday. “There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility.” The variant, B.1.617, is the fourth the WHO has declared a variant of global concern, along with the ones first identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil. Many nations, including the United States, are limiting travel to and from India because of fears the Indian variant is highly transmissible. Van Kerkhove said more information on the Indian variant will be made available soon. “Even though there is increased transmissibility demonstrated by some preliminary studies, we need much more information about this virus variant and this lineage and all of the sub-lineages,” she said. The WHO’s chief scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, told the Wall Street Journal that the B.1.617 spreads quickly. “The pattern now is that one person in the family gets it, the whole family seems to get it. This is unlike the first wave. And so I think what we’re seeing is more transmissible,” he said. The variant has two mutations in the spike protein of the coronavirus that allows it to attach to cells. Indian health officials first detected the variant last month. The “double mutation” could be of concern if the variant is more transmissible or deadly. India has reported 22.6 million COVID cases (second most in the world) and more than 246,000 deaths (third most in the world), with case counts and death counts growing by the day. On Sunday, India recorded its fourth straight day of more than 4,000 COVID-related deaths. India is also losing a high number of medical personnel to COVID. The leader of the Indian Medical Association said that 860 medics in India have died since the pandemic began, with 166 dying in less than a month since the second wave began in India. Another complication for India is a fungal infection that affects people who have COVID-19 or who recently had it, The New York Times reported. “The condition, known as mucormycosis, has a high mortality rate and was present in India before the pandemic,” the Times said. Though rare, the condition appears to affect people with weakened immune systems, like COVID patients. (SD-Agencies) | 