COVID-19 Delta variant AY.4.2 in India: Is it more infectious?

New Delhi, Oct 25: A new mutation of the Delta variant of COVID-19 which was being monitored and assessed in the UK which is also known as Delta 'Plus' may be up to 15 per cent more transmissible than the original Delta, scientists estimate.

AY.4.2, which is one of 45 sub-lineages of Delta and dubbed by many as Delta plus, is likely to be named as Nu, the report said.

The World Health Organisation will likely elevate AY.4.2 to a "variant under investigation", which means it would be given a name under its Greek letter naming system, Balloux added.

Officials from INSACOG, a consortium of labs that is engaged in sequencing coronavirus variants, have said that it was being investigated whether AY.4.2 variant of COVID-19 from the Delta Plus family can spread the infection faster.

Scientists have estimated that AY.4.2, a sub-variant of the COVID-19 Delta strain that was responsible for the deadly second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in India earlier this year, could be up to 15 per cent more transmissible than the original Delta strain.

AY.4.2 variant: All you need to know

• Potentially a marginally more contagious strain.
• Belongs to the same family of mutations that define the B.1.617.2, or Delta
• There is no clear indication that it is considerably more transmissible than Delta variant
• Not a big threat like Alpha and Delta variants
• AY.4.2, dubbed "Delta Plus" and now named VUI-21OCT-01
• Now declared as the 'variant under Investigation' in the UK