‘Deadlier than Delta’: New Covid variant ‘Lambda’ detected in over 30 countries

LONDON – An unseen variant of novel Covid-19, that’s experts believe is 'vaccine-resistant' and more dangerous than other variants, has been detected in more than 30 countries around the globe.

World Health Organization (WHO) classified the strain as a C.37 which is said to be a ‘variant of interest’. Reports in international media cited that Lambda strain has already been detected in around 30 countries while seven of them are Latin American.

Experts believe that at least 82 percent of Covid cases in Peru are due to lambda variant and it is also being found in one in three confirmed cases in Chile. The ‘deadlier than other’ strain is reportedly spreading hastily in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico.

The strain, first found in Peru, puzzled experts with its unusual mutations as available data referred to the strain as more transmissible than the Alpha, Delta, and Gamma variants.

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In addition, experts also feared that COVID vaccines may not offer sufficient protection against this strain.

A report quoting the researchers from the University of Chile cited that ‘Data show for the first time that mutations present in the spike protein of the Lambda variant confer escape to neutralising antibodies and increased infectivity.’

Meanwhile, a WHO virologist Jairo Mendez-Rico told a French news outlet that ‘so far we have seen no indication that the lambda variant is more aggressive. It is possible that it may exhibit higher infection rates, but we don't yet have enough reliable data to compare it to gamma or delta.’

Experts believe that the ongoing Covid pandemic won't be over until at least 80 percent of the world's population has been vaccinated and further variants could continue to emerge in the near future.