The latest alarm, on the front of Covid-19 mutations, comes from India, already exhausted by the recent increase in infections, where the health authorities, through the Federal Minister of Health Rajesh Bhushan, have defined the new renamed variation “worrying” “Delta Plus”. In fact, about 40 cases have already been detected in the three regions of Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, with an acceleration that the Indian Ministry of Health considers a confirmation of its greater transmissibility.
The new “variant variant” now risks putting the vaccination campaigns that almost all the countries of the world are carrying out in serious difficulty. But what exactly do we know about the “Delta Plus” variant? Let’s take stock.
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What is the Delta Plus variant?
The Covid-19 variant called “Delta Plus” was first reported in a Public Health England bulletin published on June 11, 2021. It is a mutation of the Delta variant first detected in India, which would have acquired the mutation of the spike protein called K417N which is also found in the Beta variant first identified in South Africa. Some scientists fear that the “Delta Plus” mutation, along with other characteristics of the Delta variant, may make it more transmissible. Shahid Jameel, a leading Indian virologist, explained in particular that the K417N mutation is characterized by the ability to reduce the effectiveness of the therapeutic monoclonal antibody cocktails used in the treatment of Coronavirus.
Where has it already been identified?
As of June 16, at least 197 cases had been found in 11 countries: Great Britain (36), Canada (1), India (8), Japan (15), Nepal (3), Poland (9), Portugal (22), Russia (1), Switzerland (18), Turkey (1), United States (83). On June 23, India announced the detection of about forty cases of the variant in the states of Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, but without “any significant increase in prevalence”. The first case found in India comes from a sample taken on 5 April. Britain said its first five confirmed cases in the country were sequenced on April 26, involving people who came into contact with people who had traveled to or transited from Nepal and Turkey. However, no deaths were reported among the confirmed cases in the UK and India.
What are the fears related to the spread of the Delta Plus variant?
Scientific studies have already started in India and the rest of the world to test the effectiveness of Covid vaccines against this specific mutation. “WHO is monitoring this variant as part of the Delta variant, as we are doing for other variants with additional mutations,” the World Health Organization said in a statement reported by Reuters. “For the moment, this variant does not appear to be common, and currently represents only a small fraction of the Delta sequences … Delta and other variants in circulation show a higher risk to public health as they have been shown to cause increased transmission. “.