Since the first Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan in 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been evolving, creating new strains and sublineage mutations of different variants. The Delta variant originated in India last year, and since then, it has rapidly spread worldwide, causing many surges and restrictions. A new variant of the Delta strain, AY.4.2, also called Delta +, has been reported by the Public Health reports in England. The WHO categorized the Delta strain as a variant of concern because it is highly infectious and much more aggressive than the earlier variant and the original virus.
What do we know about Delta +?
According to the latest technical reports published by the U.K Health Security Agency on October 15, the new sublineage of the Delta variant accounts for 6% of Covid-19 cases in the kingdom. Health experts believe that the current Covid-19 vaccines are effective against Delta + and the other variants identified so far. While the Delta strain, AY.4, remains a variant of concern, the sublineage variant, AY.4.2, has not been categorized, but health experts will keep an eye on it.
Health experts explain what they discovered
Professor Francois Balloux, director of University College London’s Genetic Institute, tweeted that this new mutation is around 10% more transmissible than the Delta variant. He also explained that this new mutation was identified back in March 2020, and it does not account for the surge of daily Covid-19 cases in the U.K.
Y145H is fairly uncommon mutation (<0.02% outside AY.4.2) that pops up here and there and has been found in various genetic backgrounds. The mutation was first observed in March 2020. The two mutations have been found together in some strains dating back to April 2020.
7/— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) October 16, 2021
Variants of concern detected in the U.K
The newest technical report from the U.K Health Security Agency includes a list of all the variants detected in the U.K so far, and among them, there are several strains classified as variants of concern. These variants are the Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), and Delta (B.1.617.2 and sub-lineages). There are three variants of interest and several strains kept under close monitoring.