COVID-19: Delta Plus variant, India's new concern, what we know about strain

In its latest threat analysis for COVID-19 variant, Public Health England has said a staggering 61 per cent of the samples sequenced are now of the Delta variant also known as B.1.617.2.

This means that the Delta variant, first found in India, is more dominant in the UK than the Alpha varian that led to a surge in the UK in 2020.

What is Delta Plus?

This is the new strain of the Sars-CoV-2 -- a mutant of the Delta version. The Delta Plus is scientifically known as B.1.617.2.1 or AY.1.

While the Delta variant was first found in India in 2020 and has made health officials anxious in Europe and other places, The Delta Plus was first found in Europe in March 2021 and is giving creeps to authorities in India.

Genome sequencing for the COVID-19 variants have been done rapidly across the world. Still, the virus and the disease it triggers remain unknown, unexplained in a lot of aspects. This is where it gives rise to greater worry.

While talking to India Today, top virologist Shahid Jameel cautioned that the Delta Plus variant may beat vaccines, antibodies and infection induced immunity against Sars-CoV-2.

Understanding The Delta Variant:

It was first found in samples from Maharashtra in December last year. Known as B.1.617.2 or the second version of Sars-2 mutant B.1.617, it was named Delta variant by the World Health Organization in May.

As maintained by the WHO, the Delta variant has now been found in around 75 nations. In countries such as the UK, it has come out as the most dominant form of Sars-CoV-2.

In the United States, the Delta variant has shown a sharp increase in spread from about 10 per cent to more than 30 per cent in the last one week.

Why is Delta Variant So Dangerous?

It is making the whole world anxious because it has been found to be more transmissible in comparison to the Alpha variant whose detection in the UK had made global headlines in 2020.

The Alpha variant was reckoned 43-90 per cent more transmissible than the pre-existing variants of the coronavirus. According to experts, the Delta variant is 40 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant.

However, this MIT publication claimed that the Delta variant could be up to 100 per cent more transmissible in comparison to the Alpha variant.

Does Delta Variant Cause Different Symptoms?

According to health experts the Delta variant is triggering clusters of symptoms that were not previously linked with coronavirus infection. The Gavi Vaccine Alliance says, the Delta variant is making patients more sick and their condition deteriorate faster than in cases of infections caused by previous variants.

As per the Gavi alliance, symptoms in Delta variant infection cases goes like this: headache, followed by sore throat, a runny nose, and fever. Cough is less common and loss of smell is also not common.

Is Hospitalisation Rate Higher?

Pandemic experts reckon that the Delta variant may be associated with greater risk of hospitalisation of Covid patients.

As maintained by Scottish study that was issued in The Lancet on 14th June, the Delta variant posed almost twice the risk of hospitalisation in comparison with the Alpha variant.

Can Delta Variant Evade Vaccine?

American expert Eric Feigl-Ding raised concern about efficacy of vaccines against the Delta variant. He said Covishield in India, could be 60 per cent effective against the Delta variant.

The Lancet study also suggested that vaccines are less effectual against the Delta variant especially with one dose jab.

Even in the case of two jabs, the effectiveness of Pfizer vaccine lessens, as per the analysis, from 92 per cent against the Alpha variant to 79 per cent against the Delta variant.

Why It Matters for India:

The second wave, which is seen to have been caused by the Delta variant, is going down in India. More than 90 per cent districts show a receding trend for coronavirus.

There is a worry among scientists and experts that the Delta Plus variant could be more transmissible than the Delta variant.

More than 20 cases of Delta Plus infection have been logged in the state of Maharashtra at a time when experts are warning that India may see a third wave of the pandemic soon.

The speed at which the Delta variant rose through April and May only a few months after it was first found makes its mutant version, the Delta Plus, a bigger threat.

Also Read: Coronavirus: New feature added to CoWIN platform for correction in COVID vaccination certificate