A new variant of coronavirus B.1.1.28.2 has been detected in India through genome sequencing conducted by the National Institute of Virology, Pune. The variant was isolated from nasal and throat swabs from international travellers from Brazil and the UK.
The new variant induced body weight loss, caused viral replication in the respiratory track, lung lesions, and severe lung pathology in infected Syrian hamsters during the study in comparison to D614G variant (B.1), reports said.
The test was conducted for about seven days on nine Syrian hamsters. Experts say that the new variant is similar to the Delta variant and could be more dangerous than the Alpha variant.
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