N440K, a virulent Covid mutant, is fuelling surge in some states

Even as scientists are busy trying to decode the potential lethality of the double mutant Covid strain B.1.617, a team of researchers from Hyderabad and Ghaziabad has found that the mutant ‘N440K’ of the novel coronavirus is 10 to 1,000 times more infectious than certain strains now in circulation. This mutant appears to be fuelling the second wave of Covid-19 in certain pockets.