Only COVID-19 Delta variant first detected in India ‘of concern’, two other strains downgraded: WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday said that only one strain of the COVID-19 Delta variant first detected in India was now considered 'of concern', while two other strains had been downgraded.

The WHO has named various variants of the COVID-19 virus using the Greek alphabet because it will be easy to pronounce and also help remove the stigma from the names.

As per WHO, the Delta variant B.1.617 was first detected in India and has been blamed for the explosive second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The strain has split into three lineages and is referred to as a triple mutant variant. 

The B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 variants of the COVID-19, first identified in India, have been named as 'Kappa' and 'Delta' respectively, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Monday.

The UN health agency WHO last month declared the entire strain a 'variant of concern', or VOC, but on Tuesday, it said only one of the sub-lineages deserved that label.

The B.1.617.2 variant remains a VOC, along with three other variants of the virus that are seen as more dangerous than the original version because they are more transmissible, deadly, or have the potential to get past some vaccine protections.

A new hybrid variant announced by Vietnam's health authorities on Saturday appears to be a variation of Delta.

The WHO has identified four variants of concern till now. The variant first detected in Britain will be known as Alpha, the one first found in South Africa will be Beta and the one identified in Brazil will be called Gamma.

The fourth variant first detected in India, which was been designated as a variant of concern on May 11, will be known as Delta.