New variant in UK being monitored, likely 10% more infectious than Delta variant

A coronavirus that is an offshoot of the Delta variant, is now spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom and is rated to be 10-15 per cent more infectious than its “parent” which now dominates Covid-19 infections globally.

Scientists are studying this AY.4.2 sub-variant,  but do not think that it will be catastrophic for the UK. all the same, it is at its highest level since July.

The UK Health Security Agency said in a recent briefing that the variant was being monitored and assessed. It now makes up almost 10 per cent of sequenced positive tests in England, reports The Guardian, a UK newspaper.

In a Tweet on Oct 19, Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the Wellcome-Sanger Institute’s Covid-19 Genomics Initiative,  said the variant had “grown alll over the place” since July but was not seen to be displacing other Delta (variants) and given that it hadn’t spread through the world, likely just had some epidemiological luck”.

Still, as he tweeted, AY.4.2 was the only Delta descendent steadily increasing in the UK, suggesting a “consistent advantage” over Delta.

The director of the University College London Genetics Institute Francois Balloux said that data on the Delta subtype called AY.4.2 suggests that ito be 10 per cent more transmissible than other variants in the UK.

“As such, it feels worthwhile keeping an eye on it,” said Prof Balloux, noting AY.4.2 “is likely to be elevated to the rank of “Variant under Investigation.”

“The AY.4.2 lineage has attracted attention because it has risen in frequency in the UK over recent weeks, now representing approximately seven per cent of all sequenced strains,” noted Prof Balloux.

Outside the UK, this subtype remains “exceptionally rare”, with only two strains found in the US so far.

Dr Scott Gottlieb,  former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, said AY.4.2 wasn’t an “immediate cause for concern” but called for “urgent research” to determine if it could avoid the body’s immune response or more infectious.

“We should work to more quickly characterise these and other new variants. We have the tools,” said Dr Gottlieb in a tweet on Sunday (Oct 18). AY.4.2 has been scrutinised on social media, with experts urging more study on the sub-variant.

Meanwhile, in the UK more than 40,000 new cases  every day for seven consecutive days have emerged cases every day for seven consecutive days. There were 43,738 new cases reported on Tuesday (Oct 19).

In September this year, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced a coronavirus variant known as “Mu” which may be cause for concern.

To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has four variants of concern, namely the Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1) and Delta (B.1.617.2) variants.

Mutations are first categorised as variants of interests before being tagged as a concern should they pose increased risks.

Lambda and Mu are the currently designated variants of interest./TISG

Read related: Another Covid-19 variant, ‘Mu’ with increased immunity escape, potential concern: EU agency

Another Covid-19 variant, ‘Mu’ with increased immunity escape, potential concern: EU agency