Friday Nov 22, 2024
Friday Nov 22, 2024
Monday, 27 September 2021 00:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Delta variant with the spike protein mutations A701S, A222V, and A1078S detected in Sri Lanka has been assigned a unique lineage, AY.28
It is known as the B.1.617.2.28 Sri Lanka lineage and was first detected on 9 April. According to cov-lineages.org, 69% of the lineage detections have been from Sri Lanka, with 8% from Turkey, 4% from India, 3 from Russia, and 3% from the US.
In response to a question on Twitter about if this was more danger than the original Delta strain, Prof. Neelika Malavige of the Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences said: “Not that we are aware of. We are investigating. It’s been around for few months now and 50% in Western province has been this.”
She added that they were also investigating if it was more transmissible.
When asked if higher vaccination coverage led to the mutations, Prof. Malavige said: “Absolutely not. It emerged in early April although only detected by sequencing in May. During that time, we had low vaccination rates. Vaccination reduced transmission and therefore emergence of mutations.”
