Covid-19: First Delta Plus variant detected in Chandigarh

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 26

The Chandigarh Administration said on Saturday that it had found one Delta Plus Variant of Covid-19 in one of the random 50 samples sent for genome sequencing among cases that were reported in the union territory in May and June.

A press release that the administration issued on Saturday said variants of concern (VoC) were found in 35 of the 50 samples sent for whole genome sequencing—a process by which scientists determine the DNA sequence of an organism’s genome.

The Delta variant—the variant that is believed to have primarily driven the deadly second wave in April and May this year—was found in 33 of the 35 VoC samples. One sample had the Alpha variant—a variant first detected in Kent in the United Kingdom late last year, and one was Delta Plus.

The press release said the sample belonged to a 35-year-old from Mauli Jagran, and that authorities had sent samples of the person’s family members who’d tested positive for genome sequencing.  

None of the family was hospitalised, the press statement said, and they had all fully recovered.

Fifty-two cases of the Delta Plus mutation of SARS-CoV2 coronavirus have been reported in India—the highest of these in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. The three states account for 70 per cent of cases from the variant.  

 Three deaths have been reported from the variant, which scientists say has increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells, and potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.

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