Delta subvariant A.Y 4.2 now present in 42 countries: WHO

More than 26000 cases of the Delta Covid subvariant AY42 considered up to 15 per cent more transmissible than the original Delta has been reported from 42 countries according to the World Health Organisation WHOAY42 is a newlydesignated Pango lineage within Delta Variant of Concern which has three additional mutations including two in the spike protein A222V and Y145HA total of 17 samples of AY42 variant of the Covid19 virus have also been identified in India As per data available on GISAID it includes seven in Andhra Pradesh four in Kerala two each in Telangana and Karnataka and one each in Maharashtra and Jammu and KashmirGISAID which stands for Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data is an openaccess databaseAn increase in AY42 sequence submissions has been observed since July 2021 and as of October 25 over 26000 AY42 sequences have been uploaded to GISAID from 42 countries the WHO said in its latest weekly epidemiological updateThe majority 93 per cent of these sequences were reported from the UK where a gradual increase in the proportional contribution of AY42 has been observed accounting for an estimated 59 per cent of overall Delta cases reported in the week beginning October 3 the WHO saidThe global health body said that it continues to monitor and assess SARSCoV2 variants including the AY lineages within Delta VOCThe report added that further studies assessing if AY42 is more contagious or deadlier are already underwayEpidemiological and laboratory studies are ongoing to assess if AY42 confers any additional phenotypic impacts eg a change in transmissibility or a decrease in the ability of antibodies to block the virus the WHO mentionedA gradual increase in the proportion of AY42 Covid cases has been observed in Britain with the new variant making up for about 10 per cent of all new cases compared to just 5 per cent last monthA separate genome sequencing report of the National Centre for Disease Control report has detected seven cases of AY42 in Indore The NCDC report said that this sublineage AY4 had caused the surge in Covid cases in Indore in SeptemberOther countries seeing AY42 cases include Poland Germany and the NetherlandsAccording to the latest surveillance data AY42 makes up about 16 per cent of all Covid cases in Poland Daily Mail reportedScientists say it is still unclear if AY42 is actually more transmissible because too little is known about its mutationsHowever Professor Francois Balloux a geneticist and Covid commentator at University College London who was among the first to raise concerns about AY42 last week said the slower rise was still compatible with a 10 per cent transmission advantageProfessor Jeffrey Barrett who heads up Covid surveillance at the Wellcome Sanger Institute said the data was consistent with a small but real growth advantage vs other DeltaWhile AY42 is not officially named it could soon be called the Nu variant under the Greek alphabetical system for naming new strains of the Covid virusThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever