Delta variant evolves, new version discovered in India: “More resistant to vaccines”

Delta variant, the family is growing: the most widespread of the three versions in circulation so far, indicated with the initials B.1.617.2, now has a new version identified for the first time in India, in the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (Igib) of the Indian National Research Council, Csir.

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DELTA VARIANT, NEW VERSION DISCOVERED

The new variant is called B.1.617.2.1, to underline the family bond with the one known so far, but for the sake of brevity it is indicated with the acronym AY.1. According to the Igib researchers, it is already widespread in some countries and has characteristics that could make it more resistant to both Covid vaccines and antibody-based therapies.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DELTA VARIANT

There are three versions currently most widespread of the Delta variant, so far present in a hundred countries and indicated with the initials B.1.617. It appeared in India in October 2020, at the same time as another similar but less aggressive variant, B.1.618. According to the terminology recently introduced by the World Health Organization (WHO), what is now the Delta variant in the international genetic databases has become a special supervised, i.e. one of the so-called Vocs (from the English Variant of Concern), i.e. the variants which, due to their characteristics, are of particular concern. Like all variants, Delta also accumulates mutations with relative ease, so much so that very soon it gave rise to a sort of ‘family, whose members are the three versions called B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B .1.617.3.

THE DIFFUSION – Of these, the most widespread is B.1.617.2, considered 60% more effective in transmitting than the Alpha variant thanks to some mutations, such as K417N, also present in Gamma variants, B.1.351 identified for the first time in Brazil and in the Beta identified in South Africa, and the E 484Q, also present in the Gamma variant. The variant B.1.617.2 has now in turn changed, developing a new version, indicated with the acronym B.1.617.2.1 or more simply AY.1. It was then identified in India, in the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (Igib) of the Indian National Research Council, CSIR. According to the Igib researchers, it would already be widespread in some countries and would have characteristics that could make it more resistant to both Covid vaccines and antibody-based therapies. To give it these properties would be the K417N mutation, also present in the Beta variant.