According to the latest statistics, India has confirmed 400,199,993 new cases and 3523 deaths in the past 24 hours, with a cumulative total of 19,164,969 confirmed cases and 211,853 deaths.
According to Johns Hopkins University’s instant statistics, the cumulative number of cases worldwide has reached 150,984,120, and the cumulative number of deaths has reached 3,176,214.
In the month since late March, the number of new confirmed cases in India has risen at a very fast pace, almost from a “curve” to a frightening “vertical line. And it is still on the rise. Many epidemiologists and public health experts are predicting that the situation will be bleak and that the rising curve will be difficult to smooth out by May.
The analysis points to fivefold factors contributing to the outbreak in India. And chief among them is the rapid spread of the Indian variant of virus B.1.617.
- The threat of Indian variant virus
The power of the Indian variant B.1.617 exceeds that of previous epidemic strains. The Indian variant is known as the “double mutant variant” because it includes two important mutation sites in the stinger protein: E484Q and L452R.
Among them, L452R enhances the ability of the virus to invade cells and immune escape, a mutation also found in the California variant; E484Q helps to enhance the immune escape of the virus and is similar to the mutation at the E484K locus in the South African and Brazilian variants.
Therefore, people who were infected last year, although they have antibodies in their bodies, may not be able to play a major protective role and may still be infected again under this wave of the outbreak.
In addition, there is another alarming phenomenon: many young people have been infected and even died in India this time, in their teens and twenties.
The increased rate of infection in young people is a frightening trend, indicating that the virus is gaining virulence and that the strong immune systems of young people are unable to keep the new variant at bay.
- Vaccines may have limited effect on the variant virus
The main vaccines injected in India are the AstraZeneca vaccine and the indigenous Indian vaccine Covaxin, which by themselves offer protection rates of around 70% and 80%. It may have a reduced rate of protection against Indian variant viruses that contain immune escape capabilities.
- Vulnerable healthcare system
When the epidemic soars to a certain level and the medical system cannot keep up, many people infected will not be able to get timely and effective treatment, leading to a surge in serious illness and death. This is the tragic situation that India is facing now.
- The extremely large scale gathering activities of the Indian Big Pot Festival have the potential to accelerate the spread of the virus.
- The large and dense population of India also provides “good” conditions for the rapid spread of the virus.
At present, the Indian variant has been found in about 20 countries and regions, such as the United States, China, Singapore, South Korea, etc.
Recent Comments