New Delta Plus Variant: What does it do? | Fusion - WeRIndia

As most people might be aware, the delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the second wave of coronavirus in India. Due to it being a new variant, the infection spread faster and caused a massive wave of cases. 

As the country is recovering from the second wave, it seems that the virus has mutated to a new variant named Delta Plus. This new variant has been found in three states of the country so far. The new variant was found in samples from Maharashtra, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. 

Based on the initial data, the delta plus variant has shown some signs of resistance to the monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment. This antibody treatment is what has been authorized by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Public Health England has confirmed the presence of a total of 63 genomes of Delta Variant with the latest K417N mutation in its latest report on coronavirus variants.

Scientists have stated that there is no reason to be concerned about this new variant of COVID in India. However, the Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory to the Chief Secretaries of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala, imploring them to set up containment measures.

Vinod Scaria, a scientist at Delhi-based CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology stated that the new Delta Plus variant is due to a mutation in the spike protein of SARS-COV-2. This spike protein is also what lets the virus enter the human body. 

However, the variant frequency is low in India at this point. The sequences are mostly from Europe, America and Asia, he added.

According to outbreak.info, the sequences come from countries all over the world such as the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, Nepal and Switzerland.

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