HCFI Dr KK Aggarwal Research Fund

Coronavirus Updates 

With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev 

The emerging Delta plus variant

Around 40 cases of the “Delta plus” coronavirus variant have been reported in India. This new variant is a sub-lineage of the Delta variant first detected in India and has acquired the spike protein K417N mutation. “The mutation K417N has been of interest as it is present in the Beta variant (B.1.351 lineage), which was reported to have immune evasion property,” Indias health ministry said in a statement.

In India, Maharashtra reported the first case of delta plus variant in the country. Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and J&K are the other states that have reported this new variant. On Thursday (June 24), Madhya Pradesh also reported the first Delta Plus death. ICMR is examining the efficacy of the vaccines available in the country against the Delta plus variant.  Indias health ministry has cautioned 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."

As of June 16, the delta plus variant has been reported in 11 countries, as of June 1 - Britain (36), Canada (1), India (8), Japan (15), Nepal (3), Poland (9), Portugal (22), Russia (1), Switzerland (18), Turkey (1), and the United States (83).

“WHO is tracking this variant as part of the Delta variant, as we are doing for other Variants of Concern with additional. 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,” said the WHO in a statement to Reuters. (Source: Reuters, HT, TOI, June 23-24, 2021)

 Delta Covid variant is fast becoming the predominant global variant

 “The Delta variant is well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its increased transmissibility,” said Dr SoumyaSwaminathan at a news conference. Britain has reported a steep rise in infections with the Delta variant, while Germanys top public health official predicted it would rapidly become the dominant variant there despite rising vaccination rates. Record new infections in Moscow are also mostly with the new Delta variant, fanning fears of a third wave.

Recent research from the UK suggests the Delta variant may be up to 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which originally emerged in the UK in 2020 and has since become dominant in the U.S. and many other countries. (Source: Medscape)

Older IBD patients with Covid-19 at higher risk of VTE

Older men with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at an 8-fold higher risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) after developing COVID-19 (OR 8.15, 95% CI 4.34-15.30, P<0.001).

A case crossover study examined data on IBD patients (n=428, average age 69 years) from the VA healthcare system who reported a VTE event from April 1, 2020 to March 30, 2021. 54% had a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, while 46% had been diagnosed with Crohns disease. Half of the patients were taking 5-aminosalicylic acid.  Hypertension (58%), diabetes mellitus (31%) and arrhythmia (20%) were the most common pre-existing conditions; 31% patients reported chronic anticoagulant use.

The percentage of participants who developed Covid-19 was 13.6%. Out of these, 21 patients acquired the infection within 30 days before experiencing VTE. The risk of VTE was found to be considerably higher in patients who were not taking anticoagulant medications prior to COVID-19 infection (OR 14.31, 95% CI 6.90-29.66, P<0.001). These patients were therefore likely to benefit from prophylaxis. (Source: Medscape)

US FDA will add warning about myocarditis risk following mRNA Covid vaccination

The US FDA will add a warning statement about the risk of myocarditis or pericarditis following mRNA Covid vaccination that states "these events have occurred in some recipients following dose 2, onset of symptoms was several days to a week" and based on limited follow-up, "most cases had a resolution of symptoms."

This action follows on the reported cases of myocarditis in young people, aged 12 to 39 years, who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Rates were highest among boys and younger men. The side effect was rare, but when it occurred, it was typically within a week of vaccination. The estimated rate is 12.6 cases per million within 3 weeks of a second dose of either Pfizers or Modernas mRNA vaccine

(Source: Medpage Today)