Scientists are closely monitoring a new mutation of the Delta variant, named AY.4.2. AY.4.2 has also been found in India in very low numbers. Here is all you need to know about it.
In a reminder that the Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet, scientists are closely monitoring a new mutation of the Delta variant, named AY.4.2. This comes amid a rise in cases in the United Kingdom (UK).
AY.4.2 has also been found in India “in very low numbers”, said scientists of INSACOG, a forum set up by the Union health ministry, a TOI report said.
The new variant, which scientists say may be more transmissible than the Delta strain, has been declared as a “Variant Under Investigation (VUI)” (VUI-21OCT-01) in the UK.
“The designation was made on the basis that this sub-lineage has become increasingly common in the UK in recent months, and there is some early evidence that it may have an increased growth rate in the UK compared to Delta,” the UK health security agency said.
“More evidence is needed to know whether this is due to changes in the virus’ behaviour or to epidemiological conditions,” the UK health security agency said.
According to the UK health security agency, about 6 per cent of Covid-19 cases that were genetically sequenced last week were of the AY.4.2 mutation.
The Delta variant was behind the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the UK in spring, leading to enforcement of stringent lockdowns. Britain has recorded the highest number of new Covid-19 cases since July over the past week. Daily infections have been hovering over the 49,000 mark.
What is AY.4.2?
Since viruses mutate all the time, new versions are bound to emerge. The AY.4.2 mutation of the Delta variant was first noticed in July 2021 and since then it has been slowly increasing.
Is AY.4.2 more transmissible?
A report in the BBC says AY.4.2 contains mutations that might give the virus survival advantages. There has also been preliminary evidence that it spreads more quickly than the dominant Delta variant.
AY.4.2 contains spike mutations Y145H and A222V that help the virus enter human cells more easily.
Professor Francois Balloux, director of University College London’s Genetics Institute, told the BBC that “AY.4.2 is potentially a marginally more infectious strain”.
How much more transmissible?
“It’s nothing compared with what we saw with Alpha and Delta, which were something like 50 to 60 per cent more transmissible. So, we are talking about something quite subtle here and that is currently under investigation. It is likely to be up to 10 per cent more transmissible,” Francois Balloux told the BBC.
A few cases have also been identified in the US and infections with AY.4.2 are growing in Denmark and Israel.
