Delta-plus variant raises global concern: All you need to know
The role of the Delta-plus coronavirus variant is being questioned amid surges in COVID-19 infections in parts of the world. In the United Kingdom, over 15,000 cases involving the variant have been reported since it was first detected in July. Delta-plus is a mutated variant in the highly contagious Delta lineage, which caused global panic this year.
Why does it matter?
The Delta-plus variant (AY.4.2) includes mutations to the A222V and Y145H spike proteins, which allow the virus to infect a person. There are fears that the variant is even more dangerous than Delta, however, scientific evidence is still limited. Israel, Russia, and the UK are increasingly seeing more Delta-plus cases, however, in India, the variant is still thinly dispersed.
India first detected Delta+ in April
When India's Health Ministry had first reported the Delta-plus variant in April, it had said that the subvariant could potentially be more transmissible. The concerns have resurfaced as Delta-plus now accounts for 6% of all sequenced cases in the UK, as of the week beginning September 27. Labeled 'VUI-21OCT-01' in the UK, the variant has been detected in all nine regions in England.
5 cases detected in US
The mutation has also been linked to a spike in infections in Russia and Israel. Five cases have also been detected in the United States since August, however, there has not been a noticeable rise in the country. Experts differ on whether the variant is more transmissible compared to Delta, however, they agree it needs to be studied more closely.
'Very low' prevalence in India
However, the Delta-plus variant is present in "very low numbers" in India, accounting for under 0.1% of cases, CSIR-IGIB Director Dr. Anurag Agrawal told TOI. An exact tally is expected soon, he said. In India, the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) remains more dominant and it is unlikely that its derivatives will be significantly dangerous, Maharashtra COVID-19 Task Force member Dr. Shashank Joshi added.
'Likely Delta+ only slightly more infectious'
Experts continue to recommend caution, including strict compliance with COVID-19 preventive protocol. University College London's Genetics Institute Director, Professor Francois Balloux, told BBC, "It's potentially a marginally more infectious strain. It's nothing compared with what we saw with Alpha and Delta, which were something like 50-60% more transmissible." As WHO's Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri explained recently, a subvariant is different from an entirely new variant.
