The Centre on Wednesday confirmed 40 cases of Delta Plus variant in the country, a day after it alerted Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala about the new variant. Variants are natural for mRNA viruses as these viruses are prone to errors in their replication. Owing to such errors, the virus acquire a new character. On June 16, the Union health ministry for the first time mentioned the name of this variant as a variant of interest. Within a week, the status has been changed to a variant of concern. The Centre also made additional info about the variant public on Wednesday.
1. States in India: Delta Plus has been found in three states, which have already been asked to tighten their containment measures. The areas where the Delta Plus variant has been found include Ratnagiri and Jalgaon of Maharashtra, Palakkad and Pathanamthitta of Kerala and Bhopal and Shivpuri of Madhya Pradesh.
2. 1st Delta Plus case in Karnataka: Mysuru reported the first Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 in Karnataka.
3. Goa-Maharashtra border under watch: The Goa government on Wednesday decided to increase surveillance along the Maharashtra border as Maharashtra has already reported over 20 Delta Plus cases.
4. Where did Delta Plus come from? Delta Plus is a variant of Delta which, as India said, was observed in Europe in March. But it has been notified and brought into the public domain on June 13, two days after Public Health England mentioned the variant on its bulletin. It said that the new variant was present in six genomes from India as of June 7.
5. More damaging for lungs? According to government data, Delta Plus has a characteristic of a stronger binding to receptors of lung cells. The variant is more transmissible and can potentially reduce in monoclonal antibody response therapy.
{{/usCountry}}5. More damaging for lungs? According to government data, Delta Plus has a characteristic of a stronger binding to receptors of lung cells. The variant is more transmissible and can potentially reduce in monoclonal antibody response therapy.
{{/usCountry}}6. Delta Plus was present in India in April: According to the statement released by the Centre on Wednesday, the sample in which India's first Delta Plus was found was collected on April 5 in Maharashtra.
7. Can Delta Plus infection be resisted? There is no specific weapon to resist the infection of any Covid-19 variant. Covid appropriate behaviour and vaccination remain the two pillars of fighting the pandemic — be it any variant. No variant can pierce the mask, Dr VK Paul, Niti Aayog (health) member has said.
8. Antibody resistance: Delta Plus is known to be resistant to monoclonal antibody cocktail therapy, but that does not mean it has more virulence than Delta, the Cente has said.