The most relevant data about the variant delta 6:13
(CNN) -
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, infections caused by the lambda variant have emerged in the United States, including in Texas, where Houston Methodist Hospital reported its first case last month.
Genomic sequencing has identified 1,060 cases of Covid-19 caused by the lambda variant in the United States so far, according to the independent data sharing initiative GISAID.
While that number is a far cry from the increase in cases caused by the delta variant - which accounts for about 83% of new cases in the United States - infectious disease experts have said that lambda is a variant they observe. close up.
The lambda variant was first identified in Peru in December.
The World Health Organization designates delta as a "variant of concern".
Lambda is designated a lower grade as a "variant of interest".
What's different about the delta variant?
This is what is known
"I think whenever a variant is identified and the ability to spread rapidly in a population is demonstrated, you have to be concerned," Dr. Gregory Poland, a professor of medicine and director of the Vaccine Research Group, told CNN on Friday. the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
"There are variants that emerge every day, if a variant can be defined as new mutations," he said.
"The question is, do these mutations give the virus some kind of advantage, which of course is a disadvantage for humans? The answer in lambda is yes."
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What is known about lambda
Much remains to be learned about lambda.
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The variant is not as worrisome as the delta variant in the US, which has driven an increase in cases across the country, but early studies suggest it has mutations that make it more transmissible than the original variant of the coronavirus.
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"Lambda has mutations that are of concern, but this variant is still quite rare in the US despite being present for several months," Dr. Preeti Malani, director of health for the division of infectious diseases, wrote in an email. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
"It is difficult to know for sure how transmissible lambda is and how well vaccines work. So far, it appears that lambda is more transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus," which is similar to delta and other variants, Malani wrote. , an expert from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the coronavirus that causes covid-19.
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"Fortunately, studies suggest that currently available vaccines are still protective. During the pandemic we have learned that things can change rapidly, so controlling the spread of COVID-19 in general will help control lambda," Malani wrote.
"As long as there is an uncontrolled spread of SARS-CoV-2, we will see more variants in the future. The only way out is widespread vaccination to control the spread and prevent further mutation of SARS-CoV-2. It is a race between vaccinating a enough of the world and the development of new variants that are less responsive to countermeasures. "
So far, the data remains divided on how well vaccines protect against the lambda variant, and scientists say they need to study this further.
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In July, researchers wrote in a laboratory study that they found evidence that people who received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine might benefit from a booster dose to better protect themselves from new variants of the coronavirus, including the lambda variant.
The study was conducted in the laboratory and does not reflect the effects of the vaccine in the real world, and was published online as a preprint on the biorxiv.org server, which means it was not subject to careful peer review.
Nathaniel Landau of New York University's Grossman School of Medicine and colleagues said their blood tests taken from vaccinated volunteers show that at least some of the emerging variants may evade the protection offered by a single dose of the vaccine. Janssen of Johnson & Johnson.
A booster of a second dose of the J&J vaccine, or even Moderna or Pfizer, could help, the researchers reported.
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In the study, the beta, delta, delta plus, and lambda variants showed only "modest" resistance against antibodies raised by the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, suggesting that the vaccines still work.
A previous paper, published last week on the online server biorxiv.org, found in laboratory experiments that three mutations - called RSYLTPGD246-253N, 260 L452Q, and F490S - found in the lambda variant spike protein can confer resistance to vaccine-induced immunity, but more research is needed. The article, written by scientists in Japan, has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
"Two additional mutations, T76I and L452Q, help make lambda highly infectious. Currently, the WHO has marked the lambda variant as a 'variant of interest.' We do not yet know if this variant is more of concern than the delta variant," he wrote in an email the pharmacist and epidemiologist Dr. Ravina Kullar, of the American Society for Infectious Diseases.
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"Extensive genomic surveillance studies are needed to assess how the lambda variant affects the efficacy of vaccines," Kullar wrote.
Until COVID-19 cases decrease overall, "the best way to prevent the emergence of more variants is to get fully vaccinated, not travel internationally, and follow strict infection prevention measures, such as wearing a mask, physically distancing yourself from others. and not attending large social events. "meetings."
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A game of 'Russian roulette'
Vaccines are vital to counteract new variants of the coronavirus, such as lambda, which may remain rare in the US, but are associated with "substantial community transmission rates in multiple" countries in the region, according to the WHO.
Overall, Poland, the Mayo Clinic professor, cautioned that the more people do not wear masks and remain unvaccinated, the more likely it is that additional variants will emerge in the future, including one that could evade vaccines altogether.
Because as the coronavirus continues to jump from person to person, with each new infection, it changes a little, as any virus does, and those changes or mutations can be benign or make them more easily transmissible and dangerous.
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Poland called it "playing Russian roulette" by allowing a virus to spread freely without mitigations, such as wearing face masks or getting vaccinated.
"We will continue to develop more and more variants, and eventually one or more of these variants will learn how to evade vaccine-induced immunity," Poland said.
"And if that's true, we'll start over."
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