State public health minister Rajesh Tope has said that the evolving Delta-plus variant of COVID-19 has been identified in 21 cases across six districts in Maharashtra. Nine cases are from Ratnagiri, seven from Jalgaon, two in Mumbai, and one each case in Palghar, Sindhudurg, and Thane districts.

The Delta variant is highly infectious and it is considered that the second wave was largely driven by this variant. It has now further mutated to form the Delta plus or ‘AY.1’ variant. Delta-plus has all the mutations of the Delta variant and has an additional ‘K417N’ mutation. The mutation is present in the spike protein, which interacts with the human cell. Experts warned that as it has developed from the highly transmissible Delta variant, it is necessary to be extra cautious. 

The Delta-plus variant was detected in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra in the last week of May. The state has sent approximately 7,500 samples for genome sequencing to Pune’s National Institute of Virology and CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology, New Delhi. Tope said that all index cases of this new will be thoroughly evaluated. The travel history, health condition, vaccination status, will be assessed and testing of high and low-risk contacts will also be done. Officials stated that all individuals infected in Ratnagiri are having mild COVID infection.

Civic officials in Mumbai were not aware of cases with variants till the minister’s announcement. Health officials will obtainin formation from the state and start the surveillance.

Dr. TP Lahane said that 100 samples from each district will be sent to laboratories for genome sequencing in the next three weeks. Five more states have reported the presence of the Delta-plus variant. Principal scientist at CSIR-IGIB, Dr. Rajesh Pandey, said that district authorities should adopt aggressive measures to monitor how it spreads.  

Dr. Pandey said that contact tracing should be combined with containment to control the spread of the Delta-plus variant. Additional studies should be done to determine its immune escape properties or if impacts the efficacy of vaccines.

CSIR-IGIB has signed an MOU with the state for genome sequencing of its samples. Dr. Pandey said that there are strategies to enhance the sequencing from Mumbai, Pune, and other cities. The lab takes around 7-10 days to sequence the samples and provide results to the state.

Source: ET Healthworld