Travel: Expert reveals 110 Indian flights landed in UK
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The Indian Covid strain has been appearing to behave differently in varying parts of the country, with cases shooting up in Bolton and Bedford but growing much more slowly in London. This suggests people’s movement and contact patterns must be, at least party, driving the rise. In parts of the country with very few cases of the variant, such as Yorkshire and the south west, the majority of infections have been confined to people returning to the UK from India. But in comparison, the north west has just 7.5 percent of cases from people travelling showing the virus has penetrated deeper into the community.
What are the signs of the Indian variant?
The symptoms associated with the India variant are largely the same as regular Covid infections.
This includes:
- A new, persistent cough
- A high temperature of above 38ºC
- The loss of taste or smell (anosmia)
However, one Indian doctor has spoken out about new symptoms found to be associated with the virus among patients in the country.
GPs in India are increasingly reporting instances of:
- Extreme dryness of the mouth
- Irritation or itching of the tongue
- Ulcers in the mouth
Doctor GB Sattur urged people to exercise caution and remain vigilant to additional symptoms.
He said: “Doctors should keep an eye on tongue complaints and not ignore them. The Government must do more genome sequencing to understand the variants better.”
Dr Sattur added anyone with symptoms in the mouth coupled with extreme weakness or fatigue should receive a Covid test as soon as possible.
This isn’t the first time mouth symptoms have been associated with the coronavirus, with ‘Covid tongue’ previously been described as a potential sign in the UK.
Epidemiologist and professor Tim Spector posted a photo of the phenomenon on Twitter some months back.
The diseases expert wrote: “Seeing increasing numbers of Covid tongues and strange mouth ulcers.”
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Does the vaccine work against the Indian variant?
As it stands, it’s still too early to tell what effect the vaccine will have on the new strain.
There is currently little evidence in people that the variant is stronger than the vaccine.
In the case of other strains, such as the one found in South Africa, the vaccine appears to have protected recipients against it better than initially expected.
The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) said: “At this point in the vaccine rollout, there are still too few adults vaccinated to prevent a significant resurgence that ultimately could put unsustainable pressure on the NHS.”
Is this variant more transmissible?
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Parliament there are now 2,323 confirmed cases of this strain travelling among the country.
At the moment, it looks as though this variant spreads more easily than others seen in the country.
Mr Hancock told MPs: “The early evidence suggests that B1617.2 (India variant) is more transmissible than the previously dominant B117 variant (Kent strain).
“And while we don’t have a complete picture on the impact of the vaccine, the early laboratory data from Oxford University corroborates the provisional evidence from Bolton hospital and the initial observation data from India that vaccines are effective against this variant.”
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