Delta plus COVID variant found in 3 states in India. What we know so far

Three states in India have reported cases of the new Delta plus variant of the novel coronavirus. Delta plus resulted from a mutation in the Delta variant, which was first found in India and is believed to be behind the aggressive second wave that hit the country.

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Which states have recorded cases of Delta plus variant of COVID-19?

The three states are Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

*Maharashtra

Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Monday said that 21 cases of the variant had been found in Maharashtra. The highest number was recorded in Ratnagiri (9), followed by Jalgaon (7), Mumbai (2) and one each in Palghar, Thane and Sindhudurg, the minister said

*Madhya Pradesh

The state has recorded five cases of Delta plus COVID-19 variant, Health Minister Prabhuram Choudhary said.

“So far five cases of the Delta Plus variant have been reported in Madhya Pradesh. Four out of five people who got the vaccine are healthy. One has died,” the minister told news agency ANI.

Also read: COVID-19: How vaccines work against the Delta variant

*Kerala

The variant has been found in samples from Kerala’s two districts — Palakkad and Pathanamthitta.

What is Delta plus variant?

Formally known as B.1.617.2.1, Delta plus resulted from an additional mutation, known as K417N, in Delta (B.1.617.2) variant. This mutation, K417N, was earlier found in 

the Beta (first found in South Africa) and Gamma (first found in Brazil) variants.

Also read: List of countries safeguarding themselves from COVID’s Delta variant

Believed to have been first found in Europe in March this year, it’s not a ‘variant of concern’ yet as there is very little evidence regarding its transmissibility and its link to any outbreaks. 

Despite that not much is known about it, there are speculations that this mutant is more contagious and 35-60% more infectious than the alpha variant (first found in the United Kingdom), Dr Subhradip Karmakar, AIIMS, told ANI.

He said that every variant comes with a different kind of clinical response. For eg, in the previous variant, the oxygen level was dropping, Dr Karmakar, who is an associate professor at AIIMS’ Department of Biochemistry said.

“But we don’t know what kind of consequences Delta plus variant will come with,” he added.