MP's virus hotspot Indore's virus strain may be more virulent

Bhopal: Covid-19 strain in Indore, the epicentre of coronavirus pandemic in Madhya Pradesh, was being sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Pune for test in the wake of the deadly virus wreaking havoc in the region killing 57 people so far.

The dean of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) medical college in Indore Jyoti Bindal has been assigned the task of compiling samples of Covid-19 patients in Indore as well as Bhopal to study culture and extraction of automotive mutations of the Covid-19 strains in the two regions, by NIV.

“I have contacted NIV, Pune for study on the Covid-19 strain in Indore. The institute has shown keenness for culture and extraction of automotive mutation of the strain and asked me to send the samples of coronavirus positive cases in Indore and Bhopal,” MGM medical college dean Jyoti Bindal told this newspaper on Sunday.

So far, four or five strains of Covid-19 have been found in the world, she said.
Other factors such as co-morbidity in the majority of Covid-19 patients and their late arrival in the hospitals for treatment may also have contributed to the rise in deaths due to the virus in Indore, she added.

The emergence of Indore as key hotspot of coronavirus pandemic in Madhya Pradesh has puzzled the experts in view of the city being selected as cleanest city in India consecutively for the last three years.

This has sparked apprehensions that the Covid-19 strain in Indore may be more virulent.