United Kingdom: United Kingdom monitors a mutation of the Delta variant of the new coronavirus that is the cause of an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in that country, Radio Rebelde reports.
Delta is the dominant variant in that nation, but the latest official data suggests that 6 percent of Covid-19 cases that have been genetically sequenced are of a new type, called AY.4.2 or delta plus.
The delta plus variant, which was first confirmed last July, has already been identified in at least 44 countries. The categories assigned to the variants by the health authorities are not yet considered a variant of concern or under investigation.
It was in May this year that the original delta variant was classified as worrisome in the UK, after it surpassed the alpha and became dominant.
Two months later, the experts identified AY.4.2, a descendant or sub-lineage of the first.
Now the delta plus includes some new mutations that affect the spike protein, which the virus uses to penetrate our cells. Experts warn that in that country it could be responsible for almost 10 percent of the cases.