Danger of Delta Plus increased: 7 cases of this variant of corona were reported in Madhya Pradesh, two patients died; 40 cases across the country

Concerns are increasing about the new variant Delta Plus of Coronavirus. According to the report of NDTV, 7 cases of this variant have been reported in Madhya Pradesh itself. Of these, 2 patients have died. Doctors say that the patients who died were not vaccinated. At the same time, three patients who have received one or two doses of the vaccine have been cured or are in home isolation.

The remaining two patients have also not been vaccinated, but they defeated the delta variant. Among them is a 22-year-old woman and a 2-year-old child. Of the patients infected with the Delta Plus variant, 3 are from Bhopal, two from Ujjain and one each from Raisen and Ashoknagar districts.

Warning in 3 states regarding Delta Plus variant in India
Experts believe that the Delta Plus variant can cause the third wave of corona in India. In view of this, the government has also instructed Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala to be ready two days ago. So far 40 cases of Delta Plus variant have been reported in India.

What is the Delta-Plus variant?
The double mutant strain B.1.617.2 of the coronavirus found in India has been named Delta by the World Health Organization. Another mutation K417N has occurred in B.1.617.2, which was also found earlier in beta and gamma variants of the coronavirus. The variant formed after the new mutation is called the delta+ variant or AY.1 or B.1.617.2.1.

These variants with the K417N mutation are more infectious than the original virus. Can weaken the effect of vaccines and medicines. Actually, the delta variant (B.1.617.2) is derived from the B.1.617 lineage itself. There are two more variants of the same lineage – B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.3, in which B.1.617.1 is listed by WHO as Variant of Interest (VOI) and named Kappa.

The second wave came because of the delta variant
India has recently faced the second dangerous wave because of the delta variant. Cases are decreasing, but they may take the second week of July to reach February levels. The delta variant was found in 33% of the 21 thousand community samples collected by the end of May. This variant is very different from the strain against which pharma companies have made existing vaccines.

Tests in the UK, South Africa and Brazil show that the vaccine is effective, but when tested against variants such as Delta, they have been able to produce only a few antibodies. The concern is that several new variants of the Delta variant have surfaced. It has emerged as the dominant variant in many countries including India. Going forward, this can become a challenge in managing the epidemic in India.

How effective is the vaccine against the new variants?
In India, ICMR-NIV (National Institute of Virology) and CSIR-CCMB (Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad) have done a study. In this, an attempt was made to see the effect of CoveShield and Covaxin against the Delta variant. The results show that while antibodies are being produced against the variant, it is less than the antibodies produced against the original coronavirus.

Experts say that antibody levels are never the only marker of immunity. There is also little evidence that the virus is spreading faster than the delta-plus variant. For this reason, the WHO has not currently placed it in the Variants of Concern (VOC) list.

Of the 36 Delta-Plus patients found in England, 18 did not take the vaccine. Only two had taken both doses of the vaccine. There has been no death in 36 cases. Similarly, in the delta-plus cases, only two were 60+. That is, most of the cases are in those below 60 years of age.