Coronavirus: Delta Plus variant raises concerns in India, 25 patients found in three states

The second wave of coronavirus in India country has subsided. Vaccination is being stepped up to prevent the threat of a third wave. But the changing nature, variants  of the coronavirus is a cause for concern. The Delta variant of the virus dominated during the second wave of Covid-19 in India. Now there is a growing concern about the parent variant's most recent mutation, known as the Delta Plus or AY.01. 

While the second wave of corona virus is declining in the country, cases of Delta Plus variant are also being found. There are 21 Delta Plus patients in Maharashtra.
Nine of them are from Jalgaon, seven from Mumbai and one each from Sindhudurg, Thane and Palgghar districts, state health minister Rajesh Tope said on Monday. Also, the Maharashtra government has decided to do genome sequencing and has started the process of taking 100 samples from each district. The sampling is being led by CSIR-Institute of Integrative and Genomic Biology (IGIB) to perform genome sequencing of the samples.

On the other hand, samples collected from Palakkad and Pathanamthitta in two districts of Kerala have found at least three cases of SARS-COV-2 Delta Plus. This information was given by the officials here on Monday. District Collector of Pathanamthitta Dr. Narasimhaguri T.L. Reddy said a four-year-old boy from Kadapara Panchayat in the district was found to be infected with a new Delta-Plus variant of the coronavirus.

The new variant was found through genome sequencing of child samples taken in CSIR-IGIB. Officials said the administration has taken strict measures in the affected areas of both the districts to prevent the infection. Last week, Policy Commission member Dr VK Paul said the newly discovered Delta Plus variant had not yet been classified as a worrying variant.

The first case of Delta Plus variant in India was found in Madhya Pradesh. A 65-year-old woman in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, was diagnosed with the Delta Plus variant of the Corona. This woman was healed from covid in home isolation. Also, she was given two doses of the corona vaccine. Her samples were taken on May 23, and a report from the National Central for Disease Control (NCDC) on June 16 stated that she was infected with the Delta Plus variant. According to Hindi newspaper Hindustan, four people were found infected with Delta Plus variant in Shivpuri district of the state. The report claims that all four were vaccinated and died of the infection.