New Delhi: The highly transmissible Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has mutated further to form the Delta plus’ or AY.1′ variant but there is no immediate cause for concern in India as its incidence in the country is still low, scientists here said.
The new Delta plus variant has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, first identified in India and one of the drivers of the deadly second wave. Though there is no indication yet of the severity of the disease due to the new variant, Delta plus is resistant to the monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment for COVID-19 recently authorised in India.
One of the emerging variants is B.1.617.2.1 also known as AY.1 characterized by the acquisition of K417N mutation, Vinod Scaria, clinician and scientist at Delhi’s CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), tweeted on Sunday.
The mutation, he said, is in the spike protein of SARS-COV-2, which helps the virus enter and infect the human…