Isolated populations of India more likely to contract COVID-19: Study

Isolated populations of India have a higher genetic risk for COVID-19, reveals a study. A study led by experts at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Hyderabad, and the Varanasi-based Banaras Hindu University (BHU) involve examples of the tribes such as Onge and Jarawa. Both the tribes are isolated from the population on mainland India and are found on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Speaking about the research, Professor Gyaneshwer Chaubey of the BHU, who co-led the exercise with CSIR’s Kumarasamy Thangaraj said, "There might be some speculations on the effects on Covid-19 among isolated populations. However, for the first time, we used genomic data to study the risk of the infection on 227 isolated Indian populations. It was found that the ones which carry long homozygous segments in their genome are highly susceptible to Covid-19.”

Homozygous is a genetic condition where an individual inherits the same gene variants or alleles for a particular gene from both parents.

As a part of the study, the high-density genomic data of more than 1600 people across these 227 groups was investigated.

Among these, high frequency for COVID-19 risk alleles (gene) was found among the Onge and Jarawa tribes. The other groups included the Great Andamanese and Sentinels.

“The study noted that these inhabitants live in protected areas and the general public is not allowed to interact with them.

However, after seeing the number of cases among the islanders, it can be said that they are at greater risk mainly from illegal intruders and health workers. The total census of this population is less than 1000 in number,” said Professor Gyaneshwer.