The Delta+variant strain has spread to 11 countries

Beijing News (reporter Zhu Yuehong intern Zhang Yuan) Recently, the "Delta" new crown mutation strain "mutated again", resulting in the "Delta +" mutation strain. According to Reuters and CNN, as of June 28, local time, "Delta+" has been found in 11 countries, with at least 200 related cases.

In the face of rapidly spreading mutant strains, the World Health Organization is calling on people to be vaccinated as soon as possible and reduce clusters. At the same time, it is reminded that even after vaccination, it is best to continue to wear a mask for protection.

Delta+ is probably more contagious than Delta

Recently, the "Delta" mutant strain that worries people around the world has "mutated again", and the Indian health department announced the discovery of the latest mutant strain "Delta+" in late June.

Time magazine reported that Delta+contains a new mutation called K417N. 417 has appeared in the "Alpha" variant (B.1.1.7) first discovered in the UK and in the beta variant (B.1.351) first reported in South Africa.

According to the British "Guardian", last week, at least 22 cases of "Delta+" infection were detected in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Delta+ may be more contagious than Delta.

On June 21, 2021, local time, in Kolkata, India, people were vaccinated against the new crown. /IC photo

According to Reuters, as of June 16, delta+had been found in 11 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Japan, Nepal, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States. According to CNN, there are at least 200 related cases.

Public Health England (PHE) has now confirmed that 41 of the 75,953 confirmed cases in the UK associated with the Delta variant have been infected with Delta+.

The emergence of Delta+has added another layer of challenges to the global fight against the epidemic. The World Health Organization says mutations could be prevented by stopping the spread of the virus. The World Health Organization has called for people to be vaccinated whenever possible. Even after full vaccination, wear a mask and protect yourself.

At present, more information about Delta+is still under study.

The media warned that there should be no slack in the "Delta"

On the other hand, Time magazine said that health department officials should pay attention to the new variant "Delta+" while not slackening off on the "Delta" mutation strain.

In October last year, the Delta variant was first discovered in India, which is one of the reasons for a new wave of the epidemic in India, with a large number of people infected and dead.

On June 25, the World Health Organization said at a press conference that as of that day, the Delta mutation virus had appeared in 85 countries around the world.

According to the Times of India, the Delta variant has two mutations, E484Q and L452R, making it easier for the virus to invade the human immune system and invade organs. In addition, these new variants tend to alter the structure of the spike protein, which can more effectively attach itself to the cells of the human host and multiply rapidly, which is more harmful than the original coronavirus.

According to the British "Guardian" report, in April this year, the "Delta" mutation strain appeared in the United Kingdom for the first time and quickly became the main influencing factor of the new crown epidemic in the United Kingdom.

As of last week, 94% of new cases in the UK were caused by the Delta variant. According to the latest data from Public Health England, the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are still very effective in fighting infections, with resistance rates of 96% and 92% respectively.

Not only the United Kingdom, but also many countries in the world are being "attacked" by the "Delta" mutant strain.

India, the first to discover the Delta variant, bore the brunt.

Germany has also been severely affected, with Chancellor Angela Merkel warning that Europe is "walking on thin ice" in a "battle" with the Delta mutation.

Russia is also battling the rising number of infections. On Thursday, Russia reported more than 20,000 confirmed cases, the highest since January.

About 55 per cent of Israel's population is fully vaccinated. Just 10 days after the mandatory wearing of masks was lifted, confirmed cases of infection with the Delta variant began to surge. Last week, the number of infections in Israel increased more than fourfold from before.

【News Background】

WHO has named four variants of COVID-19

Through a comparative assessment, the World Health Organization will name the strain of the NEW CORONAVIRUS variant that has been shown to have one or more of the following changes and has some global public significance. Criteria include: increased contagiousness or changes in harmful parts; increased toxicity or altered clinical manifestations; and decreased effectiveness of public health, social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, or treatments.

To avoid country-specific stigma and make it easier to use, the World Health Organization announced in May that the Greek alphabet would be used to name mutant strains found in countries. So far, the World Health Organization has named 4 variants of the new crown virus. They are:

The Alpha variant strain (B.1.1.7), the earliest currently recorded case appeared in the UK in September 2020;

Beta variant (B.1.351), the earliest currently recorded case in South Africa in May 2020;

"Gamma" variant strain (P.1), the earliest recorded case in Brazil in November 2020;

Delta variant strain (B.1.617.2), the earliest recorded case, appeared in India in October 2020.

Beijing News reporter Zhu Yuehong intern Zhang Yuan

Edited by Zhang Lei, proofread by Zhai Yongjun