Malaysia Detects First Indian ‘Double Mutant’ Covid-19 Case

Malaysia detected its first case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant first identified in India, Health Ministry said on Sunday.

“The mutation has been detected from an analysis through whole genome sequencing (WGS) after screening was conducted at the main international entry point of the country,” the ministry said in a tweet.

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The tweet was accompanied by a link to a Berita Harian news article, which noted that the news was confirmed by Health of Malaysia Dr Adham Baba.

“We have detected the first case of the Indian variant, the double mutant strain, through the entry of an Indian national when we were carrying out tests at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport,” Baba said.

The Minister added that to date, there have also been 48 cases of the B.1.351 variant from South Africa, eight cases of the B.1.1.7 variant from the United Kingdom, in addition to two cases of the B.1.525 variant from Nigeria.

“A case involving the B.1.1.7 variant from the UK was linked to a foreigner residing in Sandakan, Sabah, and this was the first case where it was detected in an inpidual without an overseas travel history. It is likely a local transmission,” he added.

In the same vein, the World Health Organization (WHO) has previously announced that the local Indian mutated COVID-19 strain has been detected in 17 countries including seven European states.

WHO explained that the new strain caused this unstoppable surge in COVID-19 infections, noting that the B.1.617 strain was detected in Greece, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland.