The B.1.617 COVID-19 variant which was detected for the first time in India, has now been found in 53 countries, said WHO as per PTI. WHO also noted that India saw a 23 per cent decrease in the number of fresh cases in the last seven days.?
WHO's COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update which was published on May 25, said that in the period of 1 week, the number of new cases and deaths are going down all over the world.
B.1.617 has three lineages - B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, and B.1.617.3.?
WHO has declared B.1.617 as a "variant of concern".?
"Despite a declining global trend over the past four weeks, incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths remain high, and substantial increases have been observed in many countries throughout the world," WHO said.?
"While the overall incidence of cases continues to decrease (driven primarily by trends in India), death incidence continued to increase for a tenth consecutive week, and sizable increases have been observed in other countries in the region," it added.
According to it, B.1.617.1 is found in 41 countries, B.1.617.2 in 54 countries and B.1.617.3 in six. In addition, information for the B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 sub-lineages was received by WHO from unofficial sources in 11 countries, including China, and will be reviewed as more information becomes available.
WHO has declared B.1.617 as a ¡°variant of concern¡± and the update noted that this variant has ¡°increased transmissibility¡±, disease severity is ¡°under investigation¡±, risk of reinfection is ¡°under investigation, possible modest reduction in neutralization activity (B.1.617.1)¡±.?
It said that the highest numbers of new COVID cases in the last seven days were reported from India (1,846,055 new cases; 23 per cent decrease), Brazil (451,424 new cases; 3 per cent increase), Argentina (213,046 new cases; 41 per cent increase), the United States of America (188,410 new cases; 20 per cent decrease), and Colombia (107,590 new cases; 7 per cent decrease).