Srinagar, April 24 (KMS): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in a disturbing development, the lesser-known N440K mutation of COVID-19 has been detected in the Kashmir Valley.
The N440K mutation was found in a sample sent from IIOJK for genetic sequencing to India’s SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG). This is the first such case of the COVID-19 mutant variant being confirmed in the occupied territory.
Senior officials of the IIOJK administration told media that samples are being regularly sent to the INSACOG to track the trends of the mutating virus. “We have received the reports of close to 118 samples that had been sent for sequencing. One of these has been found to have the mutation,” said a government official.
The variant N440K is a lesser-known mutant strain of COVID-19. The same mutation has been found in some samples from Jammu division. It has been commonly found in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana. N440K was first reported from parts of India in February.