New COVID variant 'Delta Plus' identified: Is there cause for concern? Here's what experts said

The highly transmissible Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2 has mutated further to form the 'Delta Plus' or 'AY.1' variant, the scientists in India have said. Initial data suggests that the Delta plus variant shows signs of resistance against the monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment.

The new Delta plus variant has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, first identified in India.

Public Health England, in its latest report on coronavirus variants, said the Delta plus variant was identified in six genomes from India as of June 7. The health agency has confirmed the presence of a total of 63 genomes of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) with the new K417N mutation.

However, scientists say there is no immediate cause for concern since the prevalence of this new variant is still low in India.

Delta Plus variant: Here's what we know so far

One of the emerging variants is B.1.617.2.1 also known as AY.1 characterized by the acquisition of K417N mutation, Vinod Scaria, clinician and scientist at Delhi’s CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), tweeted on Sunday.

The mutation, he said, is in the spike protein of SARS-COV-2, which helps the virus enter and infect the human cells.

The variant frequency for K417N is not much in India at this point in time. The sequences are mostly from Europe, Asia and America, Scaria wrote on Twitter. The earliest sequence of this genome was found in Europe in late March this year.

A dedicated nextstrain build for K417N is also now available .@firefoxx66 https://t.co/E0qbPrNlwE

— Vinod Scaria (@vinodscaria) June 13, 2021

Does it react to medication?

Though there is no indication yet of the severity of the disease due to the new variant, Delta plus is resistant to the monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment for COVID-19 recently authorised in India.

This cocktail recently received emergency-use authorization in the country from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. Drug majors Roche India and Ciplas have priced the antibody cocktail at a steep Rs 59,750 per dose.

Noting that the travel histories for the variant are not readily available to make assumptions, Scaria said an important point to consider regarding K417N is the "evidence suggesting resistance to monoclonal antibodies Casirivimab and Imdevimab."

Delta Plus variant transmissible?

How transmissible this new variant is will be a crucial factor to determine its rapid spread or otherwise, immunologist Vineeta Bal told news agency PTI. She also noted that the quality and quantity of neutralising antibodies, responsible for defending cells from pathogens, generated in the individual infected with the new variant is unlikely to be affected because of the mutation.

Thus in individuals catching infection with the new variant, it may not be a matter worth worrying, she added. Pulmonologist and medical researcher Anurag Agrawal concurred. There is no cause of concern due to the new variant in India as of now, Agrawal, the director of CSIR-IGIB, told PTI.