Deadlier than Delta, ‘Lambda’ Covid variant detected in 30 countries; no cases in India so far

India has not recorded any Covid-19 infection due to the Lambda variant of the virus until now, reported news agency ANI quoting sources.

The new strain has been detected in more than 30 countries in the past four weeks.

“The Lambda strain was reported to have originated from Peru, the country with the highest mortality rate in the world,” said the UK’s health ministry earlier this week.

The variant accounts for nearly 82% of the coronavirus cases reported during May and June in Peru, reported news agency ANI, citing the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

The Public Health England in the UK also recently said that a handful of cases caused by the Lambda variant have detected in the country. It said that the strain has “a potential increased transmissibility or possible increased resistance to neutralizing antibodies”.

PAHO’s regional advisor on emerging viral diseases, Jairo Mendez, said on 30 June that Lambda had been detected in eight countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, “but sporadically in most countries”.

While it is clearly the dominant strain in Peru, in Chile, it accounts for more than 31% of the samples from May and June, Euro News reported.

Mendez further stated that there was not yet clear evidence it was a more transmissible virus.

Meanwhile, the appearance of the Lambda variant comes amid a battle in Europe against the Delta variant, which was first discovered in India. Earlier, The World Health Organisation (WHO) termed the Delta variant as a ‘variant of concern’ (VOC).