Delta variant found in 78pc samples in June: IEDCR

GBNEWS24 DESK//

The Indian-origin Delta variant was found in 78 per cent of the total samples in June after sequencing during the month, said the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) in a report on Sunday.

The IEDCR confirmed identification of Delta variant in the country for the first time on May 8, and within a month, they confirmed that the variant already had community transmission in the country.

The latest report said the IEDCR, along with icddr,b and iDeshi, had sequenced some 646 genome from January to end of June.

They have found the presence of Alpha variant (UK variant), Beta variant (South African variant), Delta variant (Indian variant), Eta variant (Nigerian variant) and an unknown variant (B.1.1.618).

The World Health Organization (WHO) termed the Delta variant as the variant of concern saying it is highly transmissible compared to other contemporary variants of Sars-CoV-2.

According to the IEDCR, the unknown variant had the most prevalence during December, January and February while it was decreasing during March, April and May.

Beta variant maintained its dominance during March and April. Researchers found the presence of Beta variant in 82% of cases in March.

In May, Beta and Delta clearly had the dominance. Over 40 per cent of the samples carried Beta variant while Delta found in 45 per cent of the cases.