Delta Plus variant spreads to 4 states: Should you worry?

New Delhi, June 22: The super infectious, Delta variant (B.1.617.2) of SARS-CoV-2 that has mutated further to form the 'Delta plus' or 'AY.1' variant, has spread into four states Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka.

Health experts have warned that Delta Plus variant could trigger a possible third wave in the coming months, as it could possibly circumvent the body's immune system. Reportedly, only about 200 sequences have been detected across the globe, of which 30 are in India.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra reported 21 cases of the Delta plus variant. Of these, nine were from Jalgaon, seven from Mumbai and one each from Sindhudurg , Thane and Palgarh districts.

Kerala

The presence of the Delta plus variant has been found in two people while one case has been reported in Pathanamthitta.

The patient is a four-year-old boy from Kadapra panchayat. The variant was detected in a genetic study of the boy's samples conducted at CSIR-IGIB.

Madhya Pradesh

The first case of Delta Plus variant was reported in a 64-year-old woman from Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal.

Karnataka

Two cases of the Delta Plus variant have been detected in Karnataka."Both are mild cases with little to no change in the treatment. Nothing to worry about. We have eight genomic labs coming for sequencing in the next 30 days. Five percent of samples will be sent there," Health Minister K Sudhakar said.

Will Delta Plus be more transmissible? Should you worry?

Delta plus has addl mutant K417N, that converts Delta(B.1.617.2) to Delta plus. There are speculations that this mutant is more contagious and it's 35-60% more infectious compared to alpha variant.

However, you need not be worry. In India, the numbers are still very low. It is still a variant of interest and not a variant of concern yet, as the number of infected people is low," said Dr Subhradip Karmakar, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, AIIMS.

"Every variant comes with a different kind of clinical response. In the previous variant, the oxygen level was dropping but we don't know what kind of consequences Delta plus variant will come with," he said.

Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequencing Consortia (INSACOG) to formally release the genomic surveillance bulletin on Delta Plus variant soon. Centre is closely monitoring Delta Plus cases to take timely and appropriate step to prevent its spread.