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.
Chhindwara: 95 people, including brother-in-law, bride and groom arrived at the wedding from Delhi
Chhindwara: In Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, 95 people, including the bride and groom, were sent to
What is going on in the minds of farmer leaders about the government's proposal?
Farmers' organizations held two long meetings on Thursday on the proposal of the Central Governme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Lucknow on Tuesday after a long time. Prime Minister Narendr
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the phone with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday. T
UNSC Meeting on Afghanistan: In the wake of the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan, the United Nat
The Supreme Court will hear the case of women roaming without clothes in the northeastern state o
Today is the 40th and important day of the farmers' agitation against agricultural laws. The 8th
The final match of the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played between India and New Zealand in Duba
Foreign Minister S. India's relations with China and the impact of Russia's attack on Ukraine wil
The speed of coronavirus has doubled in Uttar Pradesh. Now more than 2 thousand cases are coming
