Six persons in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh were found infected with the new coronavirus variant AY.4, a health official said on Monday.
As per the report received from the Delhi-based National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), six persons were found infected with the AY.4 variant of coronavirus. Their samples were sent for genome sequencing along with other infected persons in September, chief medical and health officer (CMHO) B S Saitya said.
It is for the first time in the last 19-month history of the pandemic that the AY.4 variant was found, he said.
Saitya said all the six persons who were found to be infected with the AY.4 variant were fully vaccinated. They have recovered after treatment, he added.
The CMHO said over 50 people who came in contact with these six persons in the last few days were found to be healthy after testing.
Meanwhile, Dr Anita Mutha, who heads the microbiology department of the Indore-based Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, said AY.4 is a new variant of coronavirus and not much information is available about its severity.
A total of 1,53,202 Covid-19 cases were found in the Indore district so far. Among them, 1,391 have succumbed to the coronavirus infection.
Indore district remained worst affected in MP when the Covid-19 pandemic raged. However, due to the rapid pace of vaccination, the number of new infections found of late has trickled down to one or two per day.
