New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report claiming that the swine flu virus in India may have mutated and become severely infectious needs to be studied thoroughly before being accepted, Indian health experts said on Thursday.
"This is a new study. We need to go through it and research properly. It is important to know how they reached the conclusion. It will take at least one-to-two days' time to go through the study, only then I can comment on it," S.K. Sharma, director, Directorate of Health Services (DHS) told IANS.
The study by a team of Indian-origin scientists at the US university says that swine flu has killed over 1,500 people and infected more than 27,000 people in India and the virus has acquired mutations that make it more dangerous than previously circulating strains of H1N1 influenza.
The findings, reported in the scientific journal Cell Host and Microbe, contradict previous reports from Indian health officials that the strain has not changed from the version of H1N1 that emerged in 2009 and has been circulating around the world ever since.
Mutation is a permanent change of the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extra-chromosomal DNA or other genetic elements.
N.K. Mehra, former dean, research, at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) said it was important to study the MIT report before coming to any conclusion. "It will be too early to comment now without going through the report properly," he said.
A senior official of the health ministry also said that the issue will be discussed with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) before coming to any conclusion.
The flu virus in India seems to have acquired mutations that could spread more readily, the scientist have warned in the study.
Lockdown may continue in Maharashtra till end of May, Uddhav Thackeray signs
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, while addressing an all-party leaders meeting through video conf
After the formation of the Labour Party government in Britain, whatever little uncertainty there
The strength of the Indian Navy's fleet is going to increase further. Stealth Guided Missile Dest
The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday (April 28) that Siddique
Jagran Correspondent, Jaipur. The leaders of Rajasthan will take charge of the assembly election
Swine flu-hit CPI-M leader stable
Kolkata, March 19 (IANS) The condition of CPI-M leader Gautam Deb, who is down with swine flu, w
Japan's Prime Minister's Office has issued an emergency alert because of a suspected ballistic mi
The launch of NASA's Space-X Crew-6 mission has been postponed. According to reports, the launch
Jeevan Baba alias Jeet (45), who committed suicide on Thursday after shooting another Baba at Swa
Xiaomi launches Redmi Note 11T Pro series with its new Mi Band 7, know features and price
Redmi Note 11T Pro Series: Popular brand Xiaomi has recently launched Redmi Note 11Pro series in
