NewDelhi June 9 : The Delta variant – identified as B.1.617.2 – of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is believed to be the most infectious to have emerged so far. This variant was found to be the main reason behind the surge in Covid-19 cases in the second wave of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Reports say doctors worldwide are now trying to figure out if the Delta variant, detected in India, is the most severe as well.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization (WHO) last month had categorised it as a variant of concern (VOC). The WHO said it was more dominant than the Alpha variant, which was detected in the United Kingdom last year.<\/p>\n
Unfamiliar symptoms major concern<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Some atypical symptoms such as hearing impairment, severe gastric upsets and blood clots, leading to gangrene are being reported among Covid-19 patients infected by the Delta variant.<\/p>\n Alongside Alpha, the other variants, Beta and Gamma – first detected in South Africa and Brazil respectively – have caused little or no such symptoms, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of New South Wales last month.<\/p>\n The Delta variant has been reported from over 60 countries. In the UK, the Delta variant is leading to hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients more than before. Some experts suspect that the Covid-19 vaccines too have reduced effectiveness against the Delta variant, resulting in higher risks.<\/p>\n According to a\u00a0study by an Indian government panel, the Delta variant is 50 per cent more contagious than the Alpha variant. In some accounts, the Sars-2 variant, B.1.617.2, is the driving force behind the devastation that was witnessed during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India.<\/p>\n “We need more scientific research to analyze if these newer clinical presentations are linked to B.1.617 or not. Last year, we thought we had learned about our new enemy, but it changed,” the report quoted Abdul Ghafur, an infectious disease physician at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai.<\/p>\n Blood clots worsening situation<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Doctors and medical researchers are also of the opinion that the increase in hospitalised patients was also due to the blood clots that the Delta variant triggered in the chest of an infected person without any past history of coagulation-related problems.<\/p>\n Doctors have also detected instances of clots forming in blood vessels that supply the intestines, causing patients to experience stomach pain.<\/p>\n “I saw three-to-four cases the whole of last year, and now it’s one patient a week. We suspect it could be because of the new virus variant,” Ganesh Manudhane, a Mumbai-based cardiologist, said as quoted in the news report.<\/p>\n The alarming rate at which the Delta variant is infecting children has also left medical professionals worried. During India’s second wave, doctors say they were witnessing more cases of household transmission instead of individual transmission which was more prevalent last year.<\/p>\n