Delta variant: what is it and why it’s more contagious

Viruses are mutating all the time. Most variants are insignificant, but some can make a virus more contagious. “The virus has machinery to multiply, that is, produce many copies of itself. This viral machinery it’s very simple and that’s why it makes mistakes when copying. Every mistake is a mutation. It’s a probabilistic question, pure mathematics. The more the virus circulates in the world, the more copies there will be, that is, there will be more viruses with errors or mutations that can increase its “conformity”. Thus, the virus can be more infectious, more contagious or even do more damage ”, he recently assured in his account of Twitter the scientist Andréa Gamarnik, head of the molecular virology laboratory of the Foundation of the Leloir Institute (FIL) and principal investigator of the CONICET.

Then, What is the COVID-19 variant that has been identified in India? In a few words, The B.1.617 variant (Delta, according to the WHO classification) is a transformation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 disease. It was first detected in India, in December 2020. However, this variant was reported as soon as March 24, after India’s health ministry said the L452R and E484Q mutations were not detected until December in the analysis of samples.

A few days ago the World Health Organization (WHO) reclassified three known subtypes of Variant of the COVID-19 virus detected in India eight months ago. Only one of this family, the B.1.167.2, Carry on on the list of variants of international concern due to their greater transmissibility and early signs of the need to supplement vaccination schedules.

At the same time, in the United Kingdom, where more than half of the “strains” of the SARS-CoV-2 circulating in the population are Delta, they are studying whether this variant it is associated with an increased ability to cause re-infections and become more seriously ill, in addition to being able to escape the immune system, as also underlined by WHO in its latest epidemiological update, in accordance with available scientific evidence.

The variant of the coronavirus detected in India may be 60% more contagious than that found in Kent (south-eastern England), called Alphasaid last friday Neil ferguson, great expert in Imperial College London. “We get more data”, but “unfortunately the news is not positive regarding the Delta variant“, He said Ferguson that, in statements on radio 4 of the BBC, specifies that “The best guess at the moment is that this variant (India) could be 60% more contagious than Alpha”.

The expert, whose analyzes helped decisions taken by the Government for containment in March 2020, added that wait for more data for establish the efficacy of the Delta variant vaccines, which is the one that now predominates in the country. Ferguson He also pointed out that most people hospitalized in the UK for the Delta variant are not vaccinated. “It is important to say that the majority of people currently hospitalized with this variant, and with any variant, are not vaccinated. So it is clear that vaccines still have a considerable effect», He indicated.

The variant of COVID-19, which is more contagious, is ‘ready to take root in the region’ as many European countries prepare to ease restrictions and allow more social gatherings and cross-border travel, warned the regional director of WHO for Europe.

The doctor Hans kluge explained at a press conference that the variant, also known as Delta, has shown signs of being able to escape certain vaccines and he warned that part of the vulnerable population, especially those over 60, was still unprotected. “We have been here before,” he said. Kluge. “Over the past summer, cases gradually increased in younger age groups, then moved to older age groups, contributing to a devastating recovery. “

“The variant It has become the dominant strain in the UK and accounts for around 60% of new cases. Now is more common than the strain Alfa, formerly called strain B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the UK, and transmission peaks in people aged 12 to 20, ”said Dr. Anthony Fauci, The White House’s chief medical adviser at a press conference Tuesday.

At United States, the Delta variant represents more than 6% of the cases that scientists have been able to sequence. The actual number is likely higher, as the United States performs the genetic sequence in a fraction of the cases. ” UK, the Delta variant it quickly established itself as the dominant variant. It replaces B.1.1.7. We cannot allow this to happen in the United States ”, underlined the expert.

So far, there is no evidence that B.1.617 causes more severe disease. “Currently, there is not enough evidence to indicate that any of the variants recently detected in India causes more serious disease ”, He said Public health England May 7.

Laboratory research on vaccine efficacy Pfizer and Moderna against the variants observed for the first time in India showed that these vaccines appear to protect against the variants. The findings were reported in a preprinted article on biorxiv.org, which has yet to be peer reviewed.

The new research involved serum samples taken from eight people who had recovered from COVID-19, six people fully vaccinated with the vaccine. Pfizer and three people fully vaccinated with Modern. The researchers analyzed in a laboratory experiment how serum samples neutralized lentiviruses, a type of retrovirus, equipped with the same mutations as the coronavirus variants B.1.617 and B.1.618.

They found decreases in neutralization, but in general, the antibodies of the vaccinated people seemed to work “excessively” serum from people who had recovered from COVID-19 caused by previous versions of the novel coronavirus. However, more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of vaccines against these variants in the real world, they said.

Argentina is one of 31 countries that have already notified the WHO of local detection of the four variants that are currently of greatest concern for their clinical impact and the efficacy of available vaccines.: Alpha (B.1.1.7 UK), Beta (B.1.351 South Africa), Gamma (P.1 Manaus, Brazil) and Delta (B.1.617.2 India).

This morning, the Director of Migration of our country, Florence carignano, confirmed that two cases of the Delta variant coronavirus. “We have detected two cases of the Delta variant in Ezeiza, which is why the sample taken here in Argentina is so large. We automatically isolate them in hotels with all their relatives», Informed the manager in dialogue with the journalist Juan Amorin at Futurock.

As detailed, These were two passengers who originally left with negative PCR tests, but when they were swabbed in Ezeiza, it was detected that they had contracted the virus. So far close contacts have not contracted the disease and they are isolated without symptoms.

“They had been tested 72 hours before getting on the plane. When they arrived in Ezeiza, they tested positive. These swabs were sent to the Malbrán, who detected what type of strain it was. From there, close contacts are sought, who were seated next to them, and they are isolated and monitored. For this reason, these people did not circulate freely and the contagion did not spread ”, Explain Carignan.

Even like that, the Ministry of Health clarified that the cases are not new. They had been informed in early May in a statement published on their website. They are two minors from Paris and residents of the city of Buenos Aires.

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