The forthcoming wave of Delta variant which is labeled as the ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is raising concern worldwide is now subsequently approaching with the ‘variant of interest’. On June 14, the World Health Organization designated the Lambda Variant, previously known by its formal scientific name C.37, as the seventh and newest ‘variant of interest’, meaning it was something to watch out for.
The Lambda variant, like the Delta Variant has now been detected in more than 25 countries, and is feared to be more transmissible than the original virus, although it is not yet established because of lack of enough report on it. It has been the dominant variant in Peru and other countries of South America. The Lambda variant has not yet been found in the Indian population, but has recently been detected in the UK and other European countries.
“The Lambda strain was reported to have originated from Peru, the country with the highest mortality rate in the world,” the Malaysian health ministry tweeted on Monday.
It cited a report by the Australian news portal news.com.au saying that the lambda strain had been detected in the United Kingdom too. The researchers are worried that this variant may be “more infectious than the Delta variant”, it was reported.
Lambda accounts for nearly 82 per cent of the coronavirus case samples reported during May and June in Peru, Euro News reported citing the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
The Lambda variant too has emerged for quite a while now. According to the WHO, the Lambda variant has at least seven significant mutations in the spike protein (the Delta variant has three) which could have a range of implications, including the possibility of increased transmissibility or enhanced resistance to antibodies, created either through natural infection or vaccination.
A recent study by researchers at the Chile reported that the Lambda variant had greater infectivity than the Alpha and Gamma variants (known to have originated in the UK and Brazil respectively). The study also reported decreased effectiveness of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine (Coronavac) against the Lambda variant.
“There is currently limited evidence on the full extent of the impact associated with these genomic changes, and further robust studies into the phenotype impacts are needed to better understand the impact on countermeasures, and to control the spread,” the WHO said in a statement. “Further studies are also required to validate the continued effectiveness of vaccines.”
But, the designation as a “variant of interest” means that the genetic changes involved are predicted or known to affect transmissibility, disease severity, or immune escape. It is also an acknowledgement of the fact that the variant has caused significant community transmission in multiple countries and population groups.
The Lambda variant has so far not been found in India or neighbouring countries. In Asia, only Israel has reported this variant until now. But several countries in Europe from where travel to India is frequent, including France, Germany, UK, and Italy have reported this variant.
The potential of emerging variants to bypass the immunity gained through vaccination means that there could be fresh waves of infections even in populations that were being considered close to reaching community-level protection. That is what is happening in many countries in Europe right now, particularly in the UK. There has been a sharp rise in cases in several countries in the last few weeks.
