AY.1 not a variant of concern yet: Centre

AY.1 not a variant of concern yet: Centre

Subject: Science & tech

Context: AY.1, or B.1.617.2.1, has a mutation called K417N that is linked to high infectivity and has been associated with the Beta variant, first identified in South Africa.

Concept:

• A new COVID-19 variant has mutated from the highly transmissible Delta or B.1.617.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2 to form the Delta Plus or AY.1 variant.
• The new variant Delta Plus has been found to be resistant against monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment for COVID-19.
• The Delta or B.1.617.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in India during October 2020 and was declared a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 11, 2021.

         Delta Plus variant

• Delta Plus or AY.1 is one of the emerging variants of Delta or B.1.617.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2.
• The new variant is characterized by the acquisition of K417N mutation, said Vinod Scaria, clinician and scientist, Delhi’s CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB).
• The mutant K417N is found in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. The spike protein enables the entry of the virus into the human cells.
• So far, 63 genomes of Delta (B.1.617.2) with the new K417N mutation have been detected on the global science initiative GISAID, as per Public Health England.
• In its latest report, as of June 7, the Delta plus variant was found in six genomes from India.
• The variant frequency for K417N mutation is not much in India as of now. The sequences are mostly from Asia, America, and Europe.