Delta Variant Mutation may be More Transmissible

Delta AY.4.2 - the Delta variant sub-lineage has been designated a Variant Under Investigation (VUI) under the official name VUI-21OCT-01.

The UKHSA said the designation was made on the basis that this sub-lineage has become increasingly common in the country in recent months, and there is some early evidence that it may have an increased growth rate in Britain compared to Delta, reports Xinhua news agency.

COVID-19 Pandemic Invites Added Danger of New Strain Mu Variant
A new variant of interest called the “Mu” variant is listed as the fifth COVID-19 variant to be detected since March 2021.

‘Viruses mutate often and at random, and it is not unexpected that new variants will continue to arise as the pandemic goes on, particularly while the case rate remains high. ’

As of October 20, there were 15,120 confirmed cases in England since it was first detected in July.

It accounted for approximately 6 per cent of all cases during the last week. Cases have been confirmed through whole genome sequencing in all nine regions of England.

The UKHSA said it's monitoring it closely, although the original Delta variant is "overwhelmingly dominant" in the country, making up approximately 99.8 per cent of all cases.

COVID-19 Variants Can Now Be Diagnosed From Saliva At Home
With the growing burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have developed a new economically cheaper test that helps in detecting variants of COVID-19 at home from your saliva sample.

While evidence is still emerging, so far it does not appear this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines currently deployed any less effective.

More than 86 per cent of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and around 79 per cent have received both doses, the latest figures showed.

What Made Delta, Delta Variants of Coronavirus More Dangerous
The Delta and Delta Plus COVID-19 variants were less well neutralized by antibodies from infected and vaccinated individuals compared to the original virus, making them more dangerous.

Source-IANS

SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant is More Virulent Than Original Strain, Reveals a New Study
A new study evaluated the relative virulence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants and found that the delta variant is more virulent than other variants. This evaluation paves way for control of the COVID-19 pandemic.