Coronavirus in numbers: UK records 34,574 more cases

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To date, emerging variants of COVID-19 have withstood all the Government’s efforts to bring the pandemic to a close. The Delta strain, which doubles the risk of hospitalisation among those it infects, was first classified as a “variant of concern” after becoming the dominant type of Covid in circulation in July. Now a new strain of the variant, dubbed “Delta Plus”, has scientists’ attention because it carries mutations known to evade immune defences. Researchers are closely monitoring Delta Plus to understand how much of a threat it may pose.

To date, studies have suggested the new variant may bind more easily to lung cells and may be resistant to some of the key antibodies used in treatments against Covid.

One pre-print study, however, suggested the effects of the Pfizer vaccine is only modestly reduced against the new Delta Plus strain.

The virus, which refers to three subtypes of AY.1, AY.2, and AY.3, looks similar to the original Delta variant but contains some key differences.

To date, reports state that the symptoms associated with the Delta Plus variant are similar to those seen with its predecessor.

READ MORE: Covid cases MAPPED: UK has HIGHEST case rate in the world – how does your area compare?

Data from the ZOE Covid Symptom Study suggested that the three main symptoms of infection with the delta variant are headache, a sore throat, and a runny nose.

There is no existing evidence to suggest that the novel Delta Plus variant produces any additional symptoms to the original Delta strain.

However, researchers in India have purported that shortness of breath, skin rash, changes in the colour of toes, abdominal pain and diarrhoea may all follow infection from the novel virus.

Doctor Inci Yildirim, a Yale Medicine paediatric infectious diseases specialist and a vaccinologist, said in July that the progression of the Delta variant comes as no surprise.

She explained: “Delta Plus has one additional mutation to what the Delta variant has.”

Speaking of the symptoms associated with the Delta variant, Yildirim added: “It seems like cough and loss of smell are less common. And headache, sore throat, runny nose and fever are presently based on surveys in the UK.”

Recent alarm over the novel variant comes as Doctor Gottlieb, former commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration, wrote on Twitter on Sunday:“UK reported its biggest one-day Covid case increase three months just after the new delta variant AY.4 with the S:Y145H mutation in the spike reaches eight percent of UK sequenced cases.

“We need urgent research to figure out if this delta plus is more transmissible [or] has partial immune evasion?”

Arora Prerna, a scientist at the German Primate Centre who led two studies probing the Delta and Delta Plus variants, said: “It is conceivable that by fusing cells in the repertory tract, the Delta variant may spread more efficiently and induce more damage.”

The K417N mutation, which affects the spike protein the virus needs to infect cells, is the main target for the mRNA vaccine, explained doctor Yildirim.

It is found in both the Delta AY.1 and AY.2, which are both referred to as Delta Plus.

The same K417N was previously seen in the South African Beta variant and was feared to affect vaccine efficacy.

Researchers behind a study published in the Journal of Autoimmunity have warned against focussing solely on the K417N spike in the Delta Plus variant, however.

They wrote: “The Delta Plus variant has a significant number of high-prevalence mutations than in the Delta variant.

“Three mutations were exclusively present in the Delta Plus variant, while five key mutations were significantly more prevalent in the Delta Plus than in the Delta variant.

“Based on the results presented here, it is clear that the Delta and Delta Plus variants have unique mutation profiles, and the Delta Plus Variant is not just a simple addition to K417N to the Delta variant.

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