Penelope Canonico
06/15/2021 2:04 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 06/15/2021 2:04 PM
Since it was first identified in India, the spread of the
Delta variant
- also known as B.1.617.2 - continues at an accelerated rate in different parts of the planet.
It has already been
detected in 74 countries
and fears are growing that it could become
dominant
around the world.
On May 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated it as a
variant of
international
concern
due to its
greater transmissibility.
According to evidence from India and other regions, symptoms it can cause include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, joint pain, loss of appetite and hearing loss.
It is associated with a
60% higher
risk of
transmission
compared to the Alpha variant and is
40% more transmissible outdoors.
It is one of the most aggressive since the beginning of the pandemic, it is more contagious than the original virus and it could be more resistant to vaccines, particularly at a single dose.
However, an investigation by Public Health England (PHE) revealed that taking
two doses of Pfizer / BionTech protects 96%
against hospitalizations due to this variant, while
Oxford / AstraZeneca offers an efficacy of 92%
.
Meanwhile, the Russian center Gamaleya assured that Sputnik V is "the most effective" against the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
World alert
Although concern increases in countries with developed health systems and vaccination programs, the greatest fear lies in the potential
impact
of the Delta variant
in the poorest countries
, given that they have less robust monitoring systems.
It is even estimated that it has spread much more than what has been reported.
As with the previous variants, it is proving effective in avoiding existing border and quarantine measures.
In Australia, cases have been observed in Melbourne despite strict controls.
In Indonesia, a new wave of coronavirus infections is expected to peak in early July as the Delta variant becomes more dominant in some areas and hospital occupancy in Jakarta reaches 75%.
The
evidence of Guangzhou in China
, after its first confirmed case of the Delta variant in a woman of 75 years in Liwan after visiting a restaurant, alerted the community because health officials reported that
12% of patients were sickened serious or critically within three or four days
after the onset of symptoms, up to four times more than in previous outbreaks, and that the infected infected more people.
Outbreaks have been confirmed in China, the US, Africa, Scandinavia, and countries on the Pacific coast.
In the
United Kingdom
, where already
90% of registered cases are caused by this variant
, it forced the extension of restrictions due to the pandemic and threatens to cause a third wave of infections in the country.
In the
United States
, as detailed by former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Scott Gottlieb, the Delta variant is also advancing at large proportions.
Cases are doubled every two weeks
and
represent
the
10% of new infections.
In fact, Ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University in the United States, called it
"the most contagious variant we have seen so far
.
"
Yet for now, the US - where 43.6% of adults are fully vaccinated - sticks to its policy of protecting against the variant by encouraging vaccination, with little pressure to renew closures or restrictions. Similar.
In
Argentina,
they were detected
two cases of variant Delta Covid-19
in two minor residents in the City of Buenos Aires Ezeiza who returned from Paris on April 24.
Buenos Aires Minister of Health, Daniel Gollan, considered "key to avoid as much as possible" the entry into the country "of the Delta variant" because it could generate a greater number of hospitalizations for those who are infected with this strain.
Days ago, pediatric pathologist Marta Cohen, who currently works in England, pointed out that the Delta variant of the coronavirus
raises concern
and that to stop its spread "testing and vaccination should be increased in its two doses because it changed the paradigm."
Look also
Russia says its Sputnik V vaccine is "the most effective" against the aggressive Delta variant of the coronavirus
Delta variant of the coronavirus: how effective would vaccines have according to the latest studies