A new coronavirus variant carrying a mutation that appears to make it more transmissible has been detected in the U.S.
The variant, called AY.1 or ‘Delta plus,’ is a sub-lineage of the mutant strain that was first detected in India and is spreading across the globe.
It has acquired the spike protein mutation called K417N, which is also found in the Beta variant first identified in South Africa.
Some scientists worry that the mutation, coupled with other existing features of the Indian ‘Delta’ variant, may lead to it spreading more easily.
It is currently unclear where the variant originated with some researchers saying it may have come from Nepal, others saying it first cropped up in India and a few suggesting Europe is the origin point.
According to a recent report from the UK government, at least 85 cases have been found in America, but there is no evidence that Delta plus is rapidly spreading across the country.
As of June 16, at least 85 cases of the ‘Delta plus’ coronavirus variant – which has a mutation that makes it more transmissible – have been detected in the U.S.
Samples have been found in California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington as early as April 22, but there is no evidence the variant is rapidly spreading
As of June 16, at least 197 cases has been found in 11 countries: Britain, Canada, India, Japan, Nepal, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.S.
The earliest case in India is from a sample taken on April 5 and health ministers say around 40 cases have been observed in the states of Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, with ‘no significant increase in prevalence’.
Britain said its first five cases were sequenced on April 26 and they were contacts of individuals who had travelled from, or transited through, Nepal and Turkey.
No deaths were reported among the UK and Indian cases.
Meanwhile, according to outbreak.info, the variant was first detected in the U.S. on April 22 and it makes up less than 0.5 percent of cases.
The website lists California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington as the states where samples have been identified.
Dr Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, says there is no evidence Delta plus is spreading yet, but that the U.S. needs to stay vigilant.
‘The backend of this variant is Delta, which is the scariest one so far,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘The “plus” gives it even more superpowers than Delta, which is potentially even a scarier situation. It gives the virus an advantage to live.
‘So I think it follows the same playbook [as Delta] We’ll have to see what the rate of increase is, which we don’t know yet.’
Studies are ongoing in India and globally to test the effectiveness of vaccines against this mutation.
‘WHO is tracking this variant as part of the Delta variant, as we are doing for other Variants of Concern with additional mutations,’ the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement sent to Reuters.
‘For the moment, this variant does not seem to be common, currently accounting for only a small fraction of the Delta sequences…Delta and other circulating Variants of Concern remain a higher public health risk as they have demonstrated increases in transmission.’
A virologist in India said the Delta plus variant may reduce the effectiveness of COVID-19 antibody treatments due to the K417N mutation. Pictured: A student is vaccinated in Mumbai, June 22
But India’s health ministry warned that regions where it has been found ‘may need to enhance their public health response by focusing on surveillance, enhanced testing, quick contact-tracing and priority vaccination.’
Shahid Jameel, a top Indian virologist, told Reuters the K417N was known to reduce the effectiveness of a cocktail of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.
There are worries Delta plus would inflict another wave of infections on India after it emerged from the world’s worst surge in cases only recently.
‘The mutation itself may not lead to a third wave in India – that also depends on COVID-appropriate behavior, but it could be one of the reasons,’ said Tarun Bhatnagar, a scientist with the state-run Indian Council for Medical Research, in a statement.
Chin-Hong said it’s important not to panic, but that the public should remain vigilant.
‘This is a wake up call that virus is continuing to be a shapeshifter,’ he said.
‘Don’t put off your vaccine or encourage the people in your community to get it. If we are afraid of Delta, Delta plus is potentially scarier. If there was ever a time to get it, now is the time.’