Although the Delta variant has become the main strain of the US coronavirus-responsible for more than 93% of endemic countries-another variant has already swept most of South America.
The Lambda variant, also known as C.37, was first discovered in Peru in August 2020 and has since spread to other countries, many of which are in Latin America.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) The report in mid-June shows that the variant has now been found in 29 countries, territories or regions, including the United States, Britain, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Spain, Chile, and Argentina.
The exact origin of the Lambda variant is still unclear, but scientists say that Andean strains appeared in South America. Due to its rapid spread, Lambda now accounts for more than 90% of COVID-19 cases in Peru. In contrast, this strain accounted for only 0.5% of cases in December.
Peruvian health officials said the variant caused a second surge of infections in the country in the spring.
The researchers who recorded the occurrence of the mutation said that Lambda did not attract much attention when it was first discovered, but the rapid spread of the variant aroused the interest of many experts.
Pablo Tsukayama, assistant professor of molecular microbiology at Cayetano Heredia University, said: “We continue to process samples. By March, 50% of Lima’s samples contained this substance. By April, there were 80% of samples in Peru. % Contains this substance.” Lima, told Al Jazeera“The jump from 1% to 50% is an early indicator of a more spreadable variant.”
On June 14, WHO designated this strain as a “variant of interest”.
Diego Ramos/AFP
The highly contagious mutation presents new and more challenging obstacles to health officials trying to control the virus.
Although the vaccine has been shown to be quite effective against the new strain, mutations in the original coronavirus have been shown to cause more severe illness in healthy people who had not been hospitalized before, and lead to more breakthrough cases-although most vaccinated People who are infected do not need to be hospitalized.
The spread of the Delta variant has raised concerns that the Lambda variant will only intensify the recent surge in Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Last month, a hospital in Texas reported the first Lambda serial case. A few days later, Florida reported that the cumulative number of confirmed cases of this strain exceeded 100.
But some researchers believe that Lambada may not rule the United States the way it destroys many countries in South America.
“This is survival of the fittest,” Dr. Anna Durbin, a professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, told before Weekly newspaper.
She continued: “These viruses will replicate and mutate. The virus that can replicate the highest titer or spread better is the virus that can survive, because this virus will spread more easily, and the other variants are a little bit dead. “
When talking about Lambda and Delta, Durbin said: “Both of them have advantages in spreading. I don’t think the lambda variant can compete with the Delta variant.”
It is not clear whether the Lambda variant will undergo further mutations to make it stronger than the Delta variant, but the strain is continuing to spread globally.
Last weekend, after an infected person arrived in Japan from Peru in early July, Japan confirmed its first Lambda serial case.The Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan said that three days before the summer opening ceremony, an asymptomatic woman tested positive at the airport for quarantine. Olympic Games.
