Myanmar detects closest known relatives of Covid virus in humans

NEW DELHI, MAR 8

(IANS): Scientists have for the first time detected the closest known relatives of Covid in more than 12 per cent of people living in rural Myanmar, indicating that “zoonotic spillover is occurring”.

An international team of scientists from US, Singapore and Myanmar screened the blood of 693 people in Myanmar between 2017 and 2020. The participants belonged to communities that engaged in extractive industries and bat guano harvesting from rural areas in Myanmar.

The findings, published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that 12.1 per cent people were seropositive for sarbecoviruses — the family of Coronaviruses to which SARS-CoV belongs.

These viruses, with potential to jump from animals to humans, had never previously been detected in humans. They have so far been detected in bats.

“Exposure to diverse sarbecoviruses among highrisk human communities provides epidemiologic and immunologic evidence that zoonotic spillover is occurring,” wrote Tierra Smiley Evans, from University of California, and authors in the paper.

While the paper identi-

State JD(U) committee dissovled for backing Rio

Pawar clears proposal of NCP MLAs to join Rio’s govt

years ago — similar to the new-found viruses.

Among a set of 70 samples taken from people working in elephant logging camps, 32 per cent had been exposed to RaTG13. About 1.4 per cent people were also found exposed to BANAL-52.

DIMAPUR, MAR 8 (NPN): Janata Dal (United) has disapproved the Nagaland unit’s support extended to the NDPP-BJP government in Nagaland without consulting the central party.

According to reports, the lone JD(U) legislator Jwenga Seb and State JD(U) president Senchumo NCN Lotha had called on chief minister Neiphiu Rio at his residence in Kohima on Wednesday and submitted the letter of support.

DIMAPUR, MAR 8 (NPN): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

of main opposition party.

fied exposure to a range of bat and pangolin sarbecoviruses, the data suggests that RaTG13 is the sarbecovirus most frequently spilling over to people in Myanmar. RaTG13, the closest known relative to SARSCoV-2, was discovered by Pasteur Institute researchers in 2020, in a cave in Yunnan, China, along the border with Myanmar. It was 96.1 per cent identical to SARSCoV-2 overall and the two viruses probably shared a common ancestor 40-70

BANAL-52, which shares 96.8 per cent of its genome with SARS-CoV-2, was also discovered by Pasteur Institute researchers in 2021 from horseshoe bats in Laos.

“Our findings underpin the critical importance of continued surveillance at the rural wildlife-human interface in Southeast Asia, where some of the highest levels of known mammalian diversity exist and where future emergence of zoonotic diseases is likely,” the researchers said.

Adenovirus: 3 more child deaths reported from Kolkata

KOLKATA, MAR 8

(IANS): Adding further panic over the adenovirus spread in West Bengal, deaths of three more children, admitted to two hospitals in Kolkata with related symptoms, have been reported during the last 24 hours.

Of the three fresh deaths, two have been reported from Calcutta Medical College & Hospital and one from B.C Roy Childrens’ Hospital. Though the state Health Department has stopped issuing any bulletin on virus related deaths, there are claims of 48 deaths during the last 11 days.

One of two children reported to have died at the

NCF flays firing incident at Lok Sabha MP’s house

DIMAPUR, MAR 8 (NPN): Naharabri Community Forum (NCF) and GBs of Naharabri have strongly condemned the firing incident at the residence of Lok Sabha MP Tokheho Yepthomi, by some miscreants on March 6 at around 11 p.m. In a statement, NCF chairman Phoishe Zhimomi and GB Naharbari Joseph Mero urged the law enforcing agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book as per the law at the earliest. It was learnt that the police visited the spot and initiated investigation into the incident. An FIR has been registered in connection with the incident.

Calcutta Medical College & Hospital is Sayan Pal (10 months) of a family residing in Hooghly district. He was referred to the hospital from Imambara Sadar Hospital in Chinsurah in Hooghly. The second death in the same hospital during the last 24 hours was of Sheikh Tamim (six months). He was admitted to the hospital on February 26 with flu-like symptoms. Samrat Barik (10 months) also passed away in the B.C. Roy Childrens’ Hospital. One of his family members told media persons that he was admitted to the hospital a week back with severe lung infection, fever, and breathing problems.

Deaths underreported

Lashing out at the West Bengal government over the Adenovirus spreading among children in the state, Dr Manas Gumta, general secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors alleged that the Bengal government “underreported” the number of deaths caused by infection of the virus, reports news agency ANI. “This we had seen earlier also during the time of Covid. The government is not fully transparent in reporting the number of deaths due to Adenovirus,” Dr Gumta said. He also said that the infections due to

Mhathung appointed as Pro-tem Speaker of NLA

DIMAPUR, MAR 8

(NPN): Nagaland governor

La. Ganesan has appointed

NDPP legislator Mhathung Yanthan as the pro-tem Speaker of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

Sources informed Nagaland Post that the pro-tem Speaker will administer the oath of office to the newly elected legislators at a special session of the state assembly to be held soon.

It was also learnt that the election of the NLA Speaker would be held during the special session . In an order dated

March 7, Governor said:

“In exercise of the powers conferred on me by Clause 9(1) of Article 180 of the Constitution of India, I also appoint Shri Mathung Yanthan, a member of the 14th Legislative Assembly, to perform the duties of the Speaker of the said Legislative Assembly with effect from the date and time of vacation of the office of the Speaker of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly by Shri Sharingain Longkumer and until a Speaker is elected by that Assembly.” supremo Shard Pawar has decided to accept the leadership of Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio “in the larger interest of the State of Nagaland.” However, it is still unclear whether NDPP-BJP coalition government would accommodate other parties. It may be noted that smaller parties like the NPP, JD(U), RPI(A), LJP(RV) have extended their support to the Rio-led government.

Adeno or Covid are “internationally notifiable”, which means the government or World Health Organisation are accountable to report it. Dr Gumta also said that the preparations, done by the West Bengal government [to tackle its spread] are inadequate and that it has not learned a lesson from Covid. “The preparations by the West Bengal government are inadequate. Earlier, due to the government’s lack of preparedness in times of Covid, many people died, there was an oxygen crisis, ambulances fell short, and medicines and critical care unit ward everything ran short,” he said.

“We supported the Rio government on the basis of local issues of Nagaland,” Lotha had told a national daily.

Later, in a statement, JD(U) general secretary and Bihar MLC Afaque Ahmad Khan described as “high indiscipline” and “arbitrary” the support extended by its Nagaland unit to the newly formed government.

JD(U) general secretary informed that the party has, therefore, dissolved Nagaland state committee with immediate effect.

JD(U) had bagged one seat in the recently held elections to the 60-strong assembly of Nagaland.

“The central party comes to know that Nagaland state president of our party given letter of support to the chief minister of Nagaland without consulting the central party, its high indiscipline and arbitrary,” Afaque Ahmad Khan said.

In a press release, NCP national general secretary North East in-charge Narendra Verma stated that party supremo took the decision on Tuesday morning after he conveyed the views and opinions of MLAs.

He said that Pawar also cleared the proposed list of NCP legislature party leader and his team.

At the first meeting of NCP legislature party held on March 4 at Kohima, Verma said the party discussed whether to be the part of the government or play a role