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The delta variant has a mutation that's worrying experts: Here's what we know so far - CNBC

The delta variant has a mutation that's worrying experts: Here's what we know so far - CNBC

The delta variant has a mutation that's worrying experts: Here's what we know so far - CNBC
Oct 21, 2021 1 min, 25 secs

LONDON — A newly-discovered mutation of the delta variant is being investigated in the U.K.

Still, there are many unknowns surrounding this descendent or subtype of the delta variant — formally known as AY.4.2 — which some are dubbing the new "delta plus" variant.

government health officials have said it's too early to tell whether the mutation poses a greater risk to public health than the delta variant, which itself is significantly more infectious than the original Covid-19 strain (and its successor, the alpha variant).

This was first seen with the alpha variant (first sequenced in the U.K.) that went on to spread globally before it was usurped by the even more transmissible delta variant that was first discovered in India.

But last Friday, the U.K.'s Health Security Agency issued a report in which it said "a delta sublineage newly designated as AY.4.2 is noted to be expanding in England." The agency said it was monitoring the subtype, which includes mutations to the spike protein (A222V and Y145H) that the coronavirus uses to enter our cells.

Covid cases, with some suggesting it could be a factor in the country's growing health crisis that has prompted some doctors to call for Covid restrictions to be reimposed.

The delta subtype is reported to be 10-15% more transmissible than the standard delta variant, but it is too early to say for certain whether it has been causing a spike in cases in the U.K.

Finding a potentially more transmissible variant matters because it could cause more Covid cases among the unvaccinated.

On Thursday, Russia also said it had registered some isolated cases of the AY.4.2 variant.

Summarized by 365NEWSX ROBOTS

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