Kathmandu, May 12. On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation reported that the new Indian double mutant strain(B.1.617 variant) of the Coronavirus is present in 49 countries around the globe. 

The B.1.617 variant that triggered the dangerous second wave of infection in India, contains two mutations in their protein that may boost the ability to escape the body’s immune systems, increasing the possibility that it might infect the body more easily.

The variant was originally found in India in October 2020. Last month, it was detected in the United Kingdom.So far, this strain has been detected in over 4,500 samples from 49 countries. 44 countries lie in 6 regions of WHO whereas, additional 5 countries that don’t lie in WHO areas, reported WHO.

According to WHO, Britain is the worst-hit nation by the Indian variant where the largest number of COVID cases caused by the mutation was reported. In April, it was labeled as a “variant under investigation”. On Monday, the health body tagged it as a ‘variant of concern’. 

Apart from the Indian variant, 3 other variants of Coronavirus have been discovered in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. They are more destructive than the original version because they are highly transmissible and poses some degree of protection against the vaccines.