London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

19 SARS-CoV-2 mutations in India can evade antibodies, 1 causes reinfection — CSIR study

19 SARS-CoV-2 mutations in India can evade antibodies, 1 causes reinfection — CSIR study

Study suggests that N501Y, the ‘highly infectious’ Covid mutation found in UK, is present in Australia, South Africa, USA, Denmark & Brazil, and advises screening travellers from here.

At least 19 genetic variants of the SARS-CoV-2 in India have evolved to evade neutralising antibodies that the human immune system creates against the Covid-19 infection, with one of these variants having already caused a confirmed case of reinfection in the country, a study has found.

A team from CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB), New Delhi; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-HRDC, Uttar Pradesh, and Kurnool Medical College in Andhra Pradesh identified 120 ‘immune escape variants’ in SARS-CoV-2 from across the globe.

An immune escape variant of the SARS-CoV-2 is a mutation in the virus that allows it to evade the immune system.

“Our analysis suggests that a number of genetic variants associated with immune escape have emerged in global populations,” the researchers wrote in the study that is yet to be peer-reviewed.

The team compiled data from 2,65,079 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences from a global database, apart from sequencing over 1,154 genomes in their labs.
VDO.AI

Of the 19 immune escape variants found in genomes from India, one is particular — known as S:N440K variant — was found to be in 2.1 per cent of the gene sequences in India.

This variant has a high prevalence in the state of Andhra Pradesh — where 33.8 per cent of the 272 sequenced genomes had this variant.

The team’s analysis suggests that the variant evolved within India in the recent months.

What this means for reinfections


The S:N440K variant caused a case of reinfection in a 28-year-old female healthcare worker in North India. At the time the reinfection was reported, the team had suggested that the variant possibly confers resistance to neutralising antibodies.

Asked if the new variants may cause an increase in Covid-19 reinfections, Vinod Scaria, a researcher at CSIR-IGIB and one of the authors of the study, told ThePrint, “Our body generates a number of antibodies to a virus, so one genetic variant may not completely evade all antibodies. The effect of the variant depends on proteins in the virus that the mutation affects, and also how many mutations there are in a single variant.”

Apart from the 19 identified in India, the team found 24 immune escape associated variants present in almost 70 per cent of the viruses sequenced from Australia.

The analysis also suggests that N501Y, a mutation in the Covid-19 strain from the UK that is reported to transmit faster, was present in a total of 290 genomes, including genomes from Australia, South Africa, USA, Denmark and Brazil.

India has banned flights from the UK to prevent this SARS-CoV-2 from entering the country but the paper suggests that people flying in from South Africa, USA, Denmark and Brazil also need to be monitored to prevent a second Covid-19 wave in the country.

While N501Y (the UK variant) has evidence of immune escape, the effect is not as strong as the South African lineage, which has additional variants (E484K + K417N) associated with immune escape, apart from N501Y, Scaria explained.

Viral mutations are expected


According to the researchers, viral mutations are normal for RNA viruses. When a virus multiplies inside the cells of a living organism, it creates copies of the RNA. However, the process it uses to make these copies is not perfect, and often introduces tiny errors in the sequence of bases. These errors are called genetic mutations.

The genetic material of the coronavirus is ribonucleic acid (RNA) strands. Each virus has about 26,000 to 32,000 bases or RNA “letters” in its length.

These letters — A, C, U and G — stand for adenine, cytosine, uracil and guanine, nitrogen-containing biological molecules that are the fundamental units of the genetic code. How A, C, U and G are arranged in the genetic code determines what proteins are expressed by the organism.

Unravelling the genetic code, letter-by-letter, is known as genetic sequencing.

“SARS-CoV-2 has a steady rate of mutations, and therefore it is expected that the virus accumulates mutations over time,” Scaria said.


Implications for treatments and vaccines


Scaria said that at the moment, there is no evidence to suggest that these variants may pose a special challenge for Covid-19 treatments and therapies but added that they need to be looked at in detail.

As for vaccines, Scaria pointed out that in the past, such escape variants have been identified for other commonly used vaccines — for example in Hepatitis B.

While no evidence is yet available for SARS-CoV-2, one needs to be on the lookout for such genetic variants as vaccines become commonplace, Scaria said.

“There should be an emphasis to also sequence all SARS-CoV-2 cases in vaccine trials, to understand what variants could emerge and possibly a continued genomic surveillance could identify such events early in time,” Scaria said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
×