Thiruvananthapuram: 13 cases of Coronavirus variants that have undergone mutations capable of evading the body's immune system have been detected in Kerala. Of this, the variant 'N440K' calls for more caution.

The situation can be brought under control only if preventative measures such as wearing masks and hand hygiene are strictly followed. The first results from the genome sequencing conducted by the Institute of Genomics And Integrative Biology, along with the state government:

Sequencing was performed on 658 of the 2569 samples from 14 districts. These samples are from the December-January period. A total of 2174 genetic mutations were found. Of this, 13 had immune escape ability and five were highly transmissible. Though the UK variant was found in one sample, it was prevented from spreading further.

Mutations with immune escape ability were found in 113 samples. Fortunately, not more than one immune escape protein was found in each sample. The situation is deemed to be serious if more than one is detected. Such a variant was detected in South Africa.

The N440K variant was not detected in the 179 samples collected at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in September. But now, N440K was found in 10 percent of the samples in certain districts. This spread has occurred in the last three months and was found to be more in northern districts and Kottayam.

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