India's double mutant COVID-19 variant found in the United States.

The COVID-19 variant originated in India was recently detected in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

The COVID-19 variant originated in India was recently detected in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The new strain of the COVID-19 called "double mutant" was first found in Maharastra, India, on March 24, 2021. The new variant named B.1.617 has two mutations of the virus, namely E484Q and L452R. These mutations grant immune escape and increased infectivity. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, these mutations were found in about 15-20% of Indian samples.

Later on March 25, the same variant of the virus was detected in a patient's sample in the San Francisco Bay area by researchers at Stanford University. Dr. Dean Winslow, an infectious disease physician at Stanford Health Care, said there is no evidence or details about the behavior of the new variant of the virus or to say the variant is severe. Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, medical director of Stanford's clinical virology laboratory, asserted that as of now, "We don't know how those two mutations behave when they're paired together."

In California, the current two most aggressive variants are the California and U.K. variants. The California Department of Public Health recorded more than 12,000 cases of the California variant (B.1.427 and B.1.429) and 980 of the U.K. variant (B.1.1.7).

However, the Indian variant (B.1.617) is under investigation, and the California Department of Public Health told NBC Bay Area that they're monitoring reports of the B.1.617 variant.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.