Researchers Looking for New Coronavirus Variants

Chinese researchers found that people infected with Delta carry 1,260 times more virus in their noses compared with the original version of the coronavirus.

U.S. research suggests that the “viral load” in vaccinated individuals who become infected with Delta is on par with those who are unvaccinated.

Delta can cause symptoms two to three days faster, and also appears to be mutating further, that has been shown to evade immune protection.

According to Outbreak.info, Delta Plus has been detected in at least 32 countries.

Lambda variant

The Lambda variant first identified in Peru in December, may be receding, several infectious disease experts told Reuters.

The WHO classifies Lambda as a variant of interest, which carries mutations suspected of causing a change in transmissibility or causing more severe disease, but it is still under investigation.

Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California, said the percentage of new Lambda cases reported to GISAID, a database that tracks SARS-CoV-2 variants, has been dropping, a sign that the variant is waning.

Disease experts said Lambda did not appear to be causing increased transmissibility, and vaccines appear to be holding up well against it, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who attended the discussion.

The B.1.621 variant

The B.1.621 variant, which first arose in Colombia in January, where it caused a major outbreak, has yet to earn a Greek letter name.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has listed it as a variant of interest, while Public Health England describes B.1.621 as a variant under investigation.

It carries several key mutations, including E484K, N501Y and D614G, that have been linked with increased transmissibility and reduced immune protection. So far, there have been 37 likely and confirmed cases in the UK, according to a recent government report, and the variant has been identified in a number of patients in Florida.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, recently warned that the United States could be in trouble unless more Americans get vaccinated, as a large pool of unvaccinated people give the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate into new variants.

Source: Medindia