New Delhi, December 26: At a time when the United Kingdom has emerged as the hotspot of pandemic due to a mutated coronavirus strain, a top expert claimed that India was hit by a similarly unique COVID-19 variant between March and May. The mutated version of the virus acted as a "super-spreader" in India during the summer months.

Anurag Agrawal, the director of Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) , said India saw several mutations of the virus causing COVID-19. Between March and May, the country was hit by a highly transmissible "A4" variant of the virus, he said. During those months, the country witnessed a sharp spike, listing India among countries with the highest caseload. Japan Confirms Detection of COVID-19's New 'UK Variant B117', Case Count Hits Record-High.

“The variant was named A4. It started in South East Asia. It was a super-spreading event — which was noticed in samples from states such as Delhi, Hyderabad and Karnataka," Agrawal told The Print. The genome expert further claimed that mutant strain expired after May, and this may be one of the reasons why the case count began to dip.

The A4 variant "died in June", he claimed, adding that the virus in this mutated form was not fit and, hence, it expired by itself. Similar to A4, several other mutated coronavirus had been found in India due to the vast size and population of the country, Agrawal added.

The IGIB chief, however, told the publication that India was unlikely to be hit by another peak of the pandemic due to the virus strain. The country has went passed its worst-phase, and the countrywide sero surveys have thrown positive results on development of immunity, he pointed out.

In the UK, the cases have shot up by 70 percent since the start of December due to the new virus strain. The mutated coronavirus was first detected in Southeast England, but has now spread to most other parts of Britain despite a strict lockdown. A complete "stay at home" order has been issued in London and other districts to curb the pace of transmission.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 26, 2020 07:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).