The novel coronavirus’s Delta version, which was first discovered in India, has now been found in over 100 nations.
According to the head of the World Health Organization, the Delta variation of SARS-CoV-2 has now been found in more than 100 countries and is projected to become the dominant strain globally in the coming months, spreading swiftly in countries with both low and high vaccine coverage (WHO).
Delta, which was recognized as a variety of concern in May, is thought to be the cause of a severe second wave of the virus in India, with more than 400,000 new infections each day that month.
In an attempt to halt the spread of the virus, dozens of countries, including South Africa, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Thailand, have enacted new travel bans or tightened lockdown restrictions.
In October of 2020, the Delta variation was discovered for the first time in India. It had spread to 62 nations by June 1. It had been discovered in 80 nations two weeks later, and by July 4, the number had increased to 104. The occurrence of the Delta variety has recently been confirmed in Kazakhstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Namibia, Oman, and Sierra Leone.
See an interactive version of the map above here:
Algeria, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus*, Belgium, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China*, Croatia*, Czech Republic, DRC, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guadeloupe, Hungary*, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo*, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia*, Lebanon, Lithuania*, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia*, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand*, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion*, Romania, Russia, Saba, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone*, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine*, UAE, UK, US, Uzbekistan*, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
*Not verified by WHO official sources.
Variants of concern: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, like all viruses, is changing. These new varieties occur and then vanish on occasion. Other times, changes allow the virus to spread more easily and quickly, perhaps leading to more COVID-19 cases. A rise in instances puts more demand on a country’s healthcare resources, potentially leading to more hospitalizations and fatalities.
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta are four such variants of concern, whereas Eta, Iota, Kappa, and Lambda are four variants of interest, according to the WHO.
Delta is thought to be the most transmissible of the four variations of concern so far. According to several studies, the Delta form is between 40 and 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was first discovered in the UK.
Alpha
Earliest documented sample: United Kingdom, September 2020
Reported in: 173 countries as of July 4
Beta
Earliest documented sample: South Africa, May 2020
Reported in: 122 countries as of July 4
Gamma
Earliest documented sample: Brazil, November 2020
Reported in: 74 countries as of July 4
Delta
Earliest documented sample: India, October 2020
Reported in: 104 countries as of July 6
Vaccines that work
More research is needed, according to the WHO, to determine whether the Delta variant produces more severe illnesses than other known variants.
At the same time, it has asked countries to ramp up vaccination campaigns and urged affluent nations to ensure that vaccines are distributed fairly in order to combat the potential of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s head scientist, said this week that “all of the WHO emergency use recommended vaccinations do protect against developing severe disease, hospitalization, and death owing to the Delta form.”
“None of the vaccines that we have now are 100 percent protective,” Swaminathan continued. So, even if you’ve been vaccinated, you can catch the virus, but the chances are you’ll just have minor symptoms or none at all, and your chances of becoming very ill are quite slim.”
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
