Coronavirus: mutated variant from India found in 10 Hong Kong Covid-19 cases
- Seven of the cases arrived on a flight from New Delhi on April 4, though those might prove the tip of the iceberg, as the University of Hong Kong is now conducting genome sequencing on passenger samples
- Screening for mutations linked to that variant now standard practice in Hong Kong Covid-19 surveillance, authorities say
Screening for coronavirus mutations linked to the variant first reported in India now forms part of regular Covid-19 surveillance in Hong Kong, health authorities have revealed, after it emerged the mutated strain was identified in at least 10 previously confirmed imported cases.
The researcher behind the imported infections discovery has called on the government to step up monitoring processes for the potentially more infectious variant, which is being investigated by scientists around the world.
Polytechnic University’s findings show that the 10 cases with the variant – officially known as B.1.617, or by its sub-lineage B.1.617.1 – were all imported from India, with most arriving in Hong Kong early this month.
Dr Gilman Siu Kit-hang, the health, technology and informatics department associate professor who led the research, said the government’s flight ban mechanism should be expanded to include the new variant. The safeguard recently barred all flights from the country.
“The Centre for Health Protection might have missed some cases initially, as they only look at infections with the N501Y mutation, while the variant from India doesn’t have that mutation,” Siu said.
While the N501Y mutation can be found in the three “variants of concern” first identified in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, it is absent in the B.1.617 variant from India.