New Delhi: As the country emerges from the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the experts have warned the ‘Delta plus’ variant of Covid-19 may trigger a third wave in the country, particularly Maharashtra that has so far reported 21 cases of this highly infectious variant.


The major cause of worry with regard to the ‘Delta plus’ variant of Covid-19 is that about 30 cases of 200 confirmed infections detected across the globe are in India and this raises fear that this virus mutant may wreak havoc in near future.


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Maharashtra is, as per reports, collecting data like travel history and vaccination status of those who have reported this version of the virus, which has been reported from the state’s Ratnagiri and Jalgaon areas besides Sindhudurg.


In a bid to determine the presence of the ‘Delta Plus’ variation, the National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) is now studying the specimens from Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg regions, which specially have the highest proportion of active infections in the country.


Besides Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala have also reported cases of the ‘Delta plus’ variant of Covid-19.


What is Delta Plus?


The experts partly blamed the second wave of Covid-19 in the country on a triple mutant of the novel coronavirus of B.1.617.2 lineage, detected in India at the end of last year. The new strain Delta Plus contains a K417N mutation in its spike protein, which has been formally designated B.1.617.2.1.


Later, the highly transmissible variant of Sars-CoV-2 mutated further into Delta Plus of AY.1 lineage.


The World Health Organization (WHO) named it Delta earlier on May 31.


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Symptoms Of Delta Plus Variant


As per preliminary studies, the Delta Plus patients exhibited symptoms such as stomach ache, nausea, appetite loss, vomiting, joint pains and hearing impairment etc. besides fever, tiredness, sore throat, conjunctivitis, chest pain, breathlessness, shortness of breath, dry cough, aches and pains, skin rashes, diarrhea, headache, speech loss, loss of taste and smell loss etc.


The scientists are trying to identify the main differences between symptoms caused by Covid-19 and the Delta Plus mutant.


With the initial findings suggesting this novel variation may be resistant to monoclonal antibody cocktail treatments for Covid-19, the experts are attempting to figure out how this novel variation affects illness development and if it causes severe Covid-19 infection.


The medical experts are also doing research on another probable concern is that the new variant may be able to bypass the immunity provided by both vaccines and prior Covid-19 infections.


Do Vaccines Work?


The scientists are yet to test the effectiveness of vaccines on the Delta Plus variant.


The Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, as per research, were found to be only 33 percent effective three weeks after the first dose against symptomatic cases of the Delta variant as compared to 50 percent effective for the Alpha variant.


Covaxin “demonstrates protective response” against the Delta and Beta variants, according to Bharat Biotech.


However, a study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on a small group of people suggested that neither Covishield nor Covaxin were effective against the variant.


The Delta Plus or AY.01 variant may unleash a third wave in the coming months, according to health experts as it could possibly circumvent the body’s immune system.


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Countries Where Delta Plus Variant Has Been Found


Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday said the Delta Plus variant has been found in 10 countries, including India.


“Delta variant is found in 80 nations, including India. It's considered 'variant of concern'. Delta Plus found in 9 nations -US, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, China & Russia; 22 cases found in India. Variant is in category- variant of interest,” ANI quoted Bhushan as saying.


The US, UK, Portugal, China, Russia, Japan, Switzerland, Poland and Nepal are the other nine nations where the Delta Plus variant has been discovered.