Delta mutation. What are the symptoms of the Indian COVID-19 variant? [WE EXPLAIN]

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The Delta variant dominates the UK, responsible for the rise in infections and the third wave of the epidemic. In Israel, the number of people infected with this mutation is also growing, and the authorities have decided to return to the obligation to wear masks. The Delta variant is 60 percent. more contagious, and doctors report that the symptoms of the disease are different than in earlier versions of the virus. What?

1. According to estimates, the Delta variant is responsible for over 96% of infections in the UK. Two-thirds of those infected with the mutation are unvaccinated
2. The Delta variant also caused a return to restrictions in Israel. Approx. 30 percent new infections are people who have not received the vaccine
3. The official number of cases of infection with the Delta variant in Poland is approximately 100
4. The new coronavirus variant has slightly different symptoms than the Wuhan coronavirus. Doctors point out that it is easy to confuse it with a cold and ignore the symptoms at first
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage.

What are the symptoms of the Coronavirus Delta variant?

The basic symptoms of the Indian variant do not differ from those of the other mutations as well. Primarily:

1. high fever
2. persistent cough
3. loss or change in sense of smell and taste

The Indian variant may also cause slightly different symptoms of COVID-19, as pointed out by the epidemiologist Prof. Tim Spector from Great Britain. In his opinion, the most common symptoms are headache, sore throat and cough. Infection with the Indian variant resembles the common cold more than COVID-19. According to the epidemiologist, the virus changes, and coughs or loss of smell or taste are much less observed.

Common symptoms of the Indian variant (Delta mutation) are:

1. sore throat
2. headache
3. katar
4. rash
5. upset stomach
6. dry mouth
7. nausea
8. diarrhea
9. vomiting
10. reddened eyes

These less obvious symptoms can appear early in the infection and last up to two weeks. In turn, fever, characteristic of other COVID-19 variants, in the case of the Indian mutation may not occur at all or may appear only a few days after the onset of symptoms such as sore throat or stomach ailments. As a result, infected people often do not realize that they are carriers of the virus and infect other people.

According to scientists, the Delta variant is 60 percent. more infectious than the Alpha variant. It can make the disease more severe and vaccines are slightly less effective against this mutation.

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1. Which vaccines protect against the Delta variant? [WE CHECK]

Doctors from India indicate that the Delta variant may be responsible for unprecedented symptoms of infection:

1. hearing impairment
2. severe tonsillitis,
3. biliousness,
4. blood clots that can lead to tissue death and gangrene. In this case, there is even a risk that the toes or feet will need to be amputated

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Coronavirus Delta Mutation (Indian) – What do we know about it?

B.1.617 is the Indian variant of the coronavirus. It has three mutations: E484Q, L452R and P681R, the first of which also occurs in the Brazilian and South African variants, and the second in the California variants. As Dr. Trupti Gilada, an infectious disease consultant at Masina Hospital noted in an interview with Outlook India, the E484Q mutation makes the variant more infectious, and the L452R allows the virus to overcome the antibody barrier (for example, in convalescents). The doctor emphasized that it is not yet known whether B.1.617 can also infect people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Dr. Gilada emphasizes that although the current wave of coronavirus in India has been triggered by a number of different factors, its main reason is the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19.

– Due to the extremely high transmissivity of the new variant, we see entire families that become infected. Even one meal together with friends or relatives means several more households fall victim to the virus, explains Dr. Gilada.

The expert also points out that during the previous wave of coronavirus in India, many infected had the disease asymptomatically, but now there are many more people with symptoms. In addition, children also suffer from COVID-19.

Dr hab. Piotr Rzymski, an expert in the field of medical biology and research at the Medical University of Karol Marcinkowski in Poznań, in an interview with PAP, he emphasized that we still know little about the Indian variant.

– We know that this variant is not characterized by the N501Y mutation, which plays a large role in the greater transmissivity of the British and South African variants. Is it more deadly? There are no indications for this. Many people die in India because many become infected and all this may be related to human behavior and disregard for the pandemic, and not necessarily to the biology of the variant itself – added Dr. Roman.

The expert also said there are no studies at this stage to show that the Indian variant is immune to vaccines.

– The Indian variant carries the E484Q mutation, very similar to the E484K mutation – explained Dr. Roman. – The latter occurs in the South African and Brazilian variants, and has been called the “escape mutation”. We know from experimental studies that it may to some extent limit the action of neutralizing antibodies. The difference is that E484K leads to the substitution of lysine at the appropriate site – 484 – in the amino acid chain of the spike protein for glutamic acid. In the case of E484Q, glutamine is used instead of glutamic acid. Variants of the coronavirus with the E484A mutation are also known, but have not yet become media coverage.

Is the Indian variant also a “flight mutation” then? Dr hab. Roman believes that not enough to jeopardize the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

– Maybe yes maybe no. One thing is for sure – a single mutation will not completely overcome the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and will not completely deceive the convalescent’s immune systems. This requires deeper changes to the viral genome.

About the threat related to the Indian variant, Prof. Andrzej Fal, head of the Department of Allergology, Lung Diseases and Internal Diseases at the hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration. According to the expert, it is right to treat the Delta variant with great suspicion, but it should also be noted that not in all populations it dominates the Alpha (British) variant.

– With all variants of all viruses, in different climatic conditions, in a different population, the virus may behave differently – explains Prof. Andrzej Fal. – Looking from the point of view of evolutionary anthropology, we can indicate significant differences in the immune system in different races or large populations of people, so that in some large populations completely different reactions of the immune system have been recorded. Therefore, we can not quite say that if a given variant has behaved in this way in India or Brazil, it will be the same for us. Such inference is not entirely possible – these are only forecasts. And these are verified by time and place. In turn, epidemic services try to ensure that this verification never occurs, i.e. that we do not bring these new viruses or variants to the country, just in case.

Also read:

1. Adults vaccinated against COVID-19 and the virus is looking for new ‘hosts’. Children at greater risk
2. If a vaccinated person becomes ill with COVID-19, the disease is much milder. Research confirms
3. Brazil: One in six people re-infected with the P.1 mutation
4. How many variants of the coronavirus are currently in Poland? The Ministry of Health has released updated data
5. Fourth wave in autumn? Expert: We are at the beginning of the end of the pandemic

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