Epidemiology Team Leaves For Deogarh To Examine Odisha’s First COVID Delta Plus Case

Bhubaneswar: A team of epidemiologists on Saturday left for Odisha’s Deogarh district, where a 62-year-old man was found to have been infected with Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 after genome sequencing of the virus.

He is among the 48 such cases detected across the country. The detection of the new mutant in the state has triggered a fear amid the potential third wave.

Director, Health Services, Bijay Mohapatra informed that the man, who had contracted the new variant of COVID-19, had taken the first dose of vaccine on March 30. He was tested against as a contact of an infected person in April and was found to be asymptomatic positive after a test. His DNA samples were sent for genome sequencing in May, he added.

He further said that the person did not develop severe complications. “The infected person and others, who had come in contact with him, will be under observation for six weeks. The team will examine his present health condition and conduct contact tracing to know whether his contacts had been vaccinated,” he added.

Also Read: Odisha’s First Delta Plus Case From Deogarh; Are Vaccines Effective Against This Variant?

ILS Director Dr Ajay Parida had earlier told the media that over 700 samples have been sequence since May first week and none had the new variant.

“The man from Deogarh had recovered in due course of time. None who had come in contact with him was found positive. Since the sample of the man, who transmitted the infection to the 62-year-old, has not been sequenced, we cannot say this variant has come from him. The variant may not have been transmitted from someone, it could have mutated here,” he told a national daily.