Delta variant of Covid-19

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – Delta variant spreads more rapidly than other Covid-19 strains

Concept –

Key mutations reduce effectiveness of vaccines, and high infectiousness during the pre-symptomatic phase in patients are among the main reasons fuelling the rapid spread.
Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is at least 40 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant first identified in the UK in late 2020.
Delta variant is more transmissible than the viruses that cause MERS, SARS, Ebola, the common cold, the seasonal flu and smallpox, and it is at least as contagious as chickenpox.
Recent research suggests that a key amino acid mutation may be behind the ferocious infectivity of the Delta variant.
The change is called P681R and transforms a proline residue into an arginine, according to a report on the study published in Nature journal. The change occurs in the spike protein’s furin cleavage site.