A new variant of the coronavirus infection AY.4.2 was detected in Russia, but we are still talking about isolated cases. This was announced by Kamil Khafizov, head of the scientific group for the development of new methods for diagnosing human diseases at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, RIA Novosti reports.
“The AY.4.2 variant of the delta line is already being detected in isolated cases in Russia, as follows from the results of sequencing the genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus deposited in the VGARus database,” said Khafizov. VGARus is the SARS-CoV-2 virus genomic sequence database created last year.
According to him, the AY.4.2 variant is one of the many branches of the delta strain, which probably “has a number of advantages over the original and other versions of the virus.” At the same time, the specialist noted that it is too early to talk about the greater infectiousness of the mutation.
For the first time, the worldwide distribution of the AY.4.2 strain became known on October 19. The Financial Times newspaper, citing experts from the Senger Institute in Cambridge and the Institute of Genetics at University College London, wrote that the mutation was identified in the UK. Scientists estimate that the new strain may be 10-15% more infectious than the Indian strain. Now the new variant accounts for almost 10% of all infections in the UK, the newspaper noted.
UK Health Minister Sajid Javid said there was no reason to believe that AY.4.2 posed an increased threat.
Later, the AY.4.2 strain was identified in Israel, the local Ministry of Health reported. The sick was a minor who had returned from abroad.
