AFP PHOTONEW DELHI: A government study has found the Covid-19 variant first found in India and known as Delta variant or the B.1.617.2 strain was behind the second surge of the pandemic in the country, local media reported Friday. The study carried out by Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (Insacog) and the National Center for Disease Control said the Delta variant is "more infectious" than the Alpha variant. Insacog is a consortium of labs undertaking genome sequencing in India. The B.1.617 variant and its lineage B.1.617.2 were primarily responsible for the surge in Covid-19 cases with a high transmissibility of 50 percent more than Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) found in Britain, the study says. Detection of B.1.1.7 VOC (variant of concern) was minimal until January 2021, increasing to about 20 percent in February and 40 percent in March 2021.

Source: Manila Times June 04, 2021 08:03 UTC