`Asymptomatic patients need not be scared of coronavirus if they do not feel symptoms'

Rakesh Mishra, Director, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, on Thursday said that asymptomatic patients need not be scared of the coronavirus if they do not feel any symptoms.

"It might happen that some people do not feel any symptoms of coronavirus. These asymptomatic patients need not be afraid. As long as you don't feel any symptom there is no problem," Mishra told .

"There is a distinct clade A3i that is predominant in Southeast Asia. This strain has not come from China but from other Southeast Asian countries. It may have originated in the middle of February, maybe in China or somewhere else," he said.

"A3i has four different mutations. There are four sequences, three of them actually change protein in the virus. In India, more than 40 per cent of all patients are of this clade. The first major clade is A2a clade which is in Gujarat, Maharashtra and other parts and is close to 50 per cent," he added.

Speaking on means to tackle the virus, he said that it may be possible after getting all kinds of data -- clinical data, epidemiology data, and the molecular biology data. "Only after getting these data can we understand this virus in much more detail and then maybe we will be able to know how to tackle it," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )