Whole-Genome Sequence Analysis of DELTA Variant at Ayass BioScience, LLC
The Delta variant was first detected in India in October 2020. By June 1, it had spread to 62 countries. Two weeks later, it had been found in 80 countries and by July 4, the number had risen to 104.
The delta variant is the most contagious version of the coronavirus. It spreads 225% faster than the original version of the virus, and it’s currently dominating the outbreak not only in the United States, but worldwide.
Recently Published Study shows why. The variant grows more rapidly inside individual’s respiratory tracts and to much higher levels. People infected with the delta variant have 1,000 times more copies of the virus in their respiratory tracts than those infected with the original strain of COVID-19.
The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, a viral lineage also known as B.1.617.2 that was first identified in India, has been considered the “greatest threat” in the world’s effort to contain COVID-19. To assess the incidence of the Delta variant from a local laboratory and investigate any vaccine breakthrough cases against the Delta variant, our lab performed the viral whole-genome sequence analysis on samples randomly select from nasal swab positive cases.
The laboratory continues to sequence the positive samples and starts to see a rise in the number of cases of Delta variant of COVID-19 that have been previously vaccinated. The initial data suggests that the Delta variant is spreading quickly in our communities and the public may have a potential risk to infect COVID-19 even full vaccinated.
The cases also supported the idea that continued travel-related control measures and public health mitigation measures such as:
Wearing masks
Physical distancing
Daily symptom screening
Regular testing
Avoiding crowds
Avoiding unnecessary travel
Obtaining a full vaccination
It is critically important for public health to slow down the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and accelerating the end of the pandemic.
Why we need to sequence SARS-CoV-2 viral variants:
- Investigating virus transmission dynamics and introductions of novel genetic variants;
- Investigating the relationship between clades/lineages and epidemiological data such as transmissibility and disease severity or risk groups to guide public health action;
- Understanding the impact of response measures on the virus population;
- Assessing the impact of mutations on the performance of molecular diagnostic, serological, and antigen detection methods;
- Assessing relatedness of viral strains within epidemiological clusters and supporting contact tracing and other public health interventions;
- Assessing and confirming reinfections;
- Prompting further basic research investigation to confirm relevance of observed mutations in the pathogenesis of the disease (e.g. infectivity, receptors binding);
- Assessing the impact of mutations on the performance of antiviral drugs;
- Assessing the impact of mutations and modelling the antigenic properties of the virus to assess the risk of vaccine escape;
- Assessing the potential incidence of vaccine-derived virus infections and transmissions should live SARSCoV-2 vaccines become available.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant.html
