WHO Has Named One Of The COVID Strains Identified In India As Kappa And Keralites Are Offended

The B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 variants of the COVID-19, first identified in India, have been named as 'Kappa' and 'Delta' respectively by the WHO.

The World Health Organisation's move on Monday came nearly three weeks after India objected to the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an "Indian Variant" in media reports with the Union Health Ministry pointing out that the UN's top health organ has not used the word "Indian" for this strain in its document.

New variant label names for VOCs and VUIs by @WHO.#B117 is now Alpha#B1351 is now Beta#P1 is now Gamma#B16172 is now Delta

Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa are for variants of interest.

At this rate, might run out of Greek letters pretty fast?https://t.co/OUNqx4YyOd pic.twitter.com/Ogx4twZQNx

¡ª Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) June 1, 2021

Kappa and Delta

The UN health agency named the B.1.617.1 variant of the COVID 19 as 'Kappa' while the B1.617.2 variant was dubbed 'Delta.' Both the variants were first found in India.

Taking to Twitter, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical COVID-19 lead, on Monday said: "Today, @WHO announces new, easy-to-say labels for #SARSCoV2 Variants of Concern (VOCs) & Interest (VOIs). They will not replace existing scientific names, but are aimed to help in public discussion of VOI/VOC¡±.

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The WHO, while announcing the new naming system ¡°making them simple, easy to say and remember¡±, said that it is ¡°stigmatising and discriminatory¡± to call the variants by names of the nations they are first detected in.

¡°The labels do not replace existing scientific names, which convey important scientific information & will continue to be used in research. The naming system aims to prevent calling COVID-19 variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatizing & discriminatory,¡± the WHO said in a tweet on Monday.

The Geneva-based global health agency encouraged countries and others to adopt these names as they will ease public discussions about the global COVID-19 Variants of Concern and Interest.

Kappa in Kerala

While the WHO has named various variants of the coronavirus using Greek alphabets to simplify public discussions and also help remove stigma from the names, the use of 'Kappa' has not gone down well with some.

Tapioca: How did a tuber that has roots in Brazil finds its way to Kerala?
After a great famine hit Travancore, Vishakham Thirunal Rama Varma, the King¡¯s younger bro, was keen botanist and after research introduced this starchy tuber. it is known as cheeni or kappa in Kerala. pic.twitter.com/F6PV9kAvt5

¡ª Theashish (@ashish20in) May 23, 2021

What is Kappa?

That is because Kappa, aka cassava or tapioca, is a staple food of the people of Kerala. In fact, it is considered the unofficial national food for Malayalees across the world and a must-try item for tourists visiting the states.

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Many expressed their displeasure over naming the virus after their favourite food.

#Justice4Kappa
"The B.1.617.1 variant of the Covid-19, first identified in India, has been named as 'Kappa' by the World Health Organisation (WHO)." Pls reconsider this naming. Customs Officer now have new tool to hold us while carry Chips.#malayali #Kerala #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/8DYdb8UgQ9

¡ª SBJOHN (@Shelly_BJ) June 1, 2021

In fact did someone tell them Kappa is a kind of food in India. Tapioca in Kerala

¡ª Anant Bhan (@AnantBhan) May 31, 2021

As a native of Kerala, I strongly protest the renaming of
B.1.617.1 variant as Kappa.

¡ª Mrs Palakkadan ?? (@Lotus2021) May 31, 2021

I will Stop eating Kappa?

¡ª Jay Ganesh (@1inherd) June 1, 2021

Other strains

The WHO said the B.1.1.7 strain first detected in the UK will be known as ¡°Alpha¡±, while the B.1.351 variant detected in South Africa is now ¡®Beta', P.1 variant first found in Brazil is ¡°Gamma¡± and the P.2 variant is ¡°Zeta¡±. The strains found in the US are ¡°Epsilon¡± and ¡°Iota¡±.

¡°No country should be stigmatised for detecting and reporting variants. Globally, we need robust surveillance for variants, incl epi, molecular and sequencing to be carried out and shared. We need to continue to do all we can to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (sic),¡± Infectious Disease Epidemiologist and COVID-19 Technical Lead at the WHO Kerkhove said in a tweet.

¡°The labels don't replace existing scientific names, which convey (important) scientific info and will continue to be used in research¡­ These labels will help with public discussion about VOC/VOI as the numbering system can be difficult to follow,¡± she said.