The Delta strain has just arrived, and the Lambda strain has already appeared. Do we need to take special precautions?

Currently, the most widespread and threatening strain in the world is the Delta strain, which is a mutated virus that was originally discovered in India. It is highly contagious and is also called B1617.2.

Where does this virus come from?

As we all know, India's sanitary environment has created a special physique of its people. During the epidemic, India was not able to provide good virus protection. Cow urine and cow dung even became antiviral artifacts. Under such conditions, the virus was able to mutate and evolve rapidly. As a result, the Delta virus carries the double mutations of E484Q and L452R, which have the characteristics of strong transmission, short incubation period, high viral load, rapid disease progression, high proportion of severe cases, and possible immune escape.

At present, the rebound of the epidemic in my country is also due to the spread of this mutant virus strain. From July 20th to now, more than 800 people have been infected with the new coronavirus. Nature magazine cited a study from China saying that "the concentration of virus particles in people infected with the delta virus is about 1,000 times that of those infected with the original strain of the new coronavirus."

New strains are emerging.

While everyone is afraid of the high infectivity and breakthrough infection rate of the Delta strain, a new coronavirus variant "Lambda" has quietly sneaked into the United States. The Lambda variant was first discovered in Peru in August 2020. Medical experts warn that this variant may be more contagious.

Starting from the discovery of a case of Lambda strain at Houston Methodist Hospital on July 22, as of August 4, there have been 1,053 cases of Lambda infection in the United States, second only to Chile.

Currently, the new variant Lambda has spread to 41 countries and regions around the world. According to data released by Public Health England, in addition to South America, many European and American countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, Israel, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe have reported cases of infection with the Lambda strain.

Which one is more powerful, the Delta or Lambda strain?

The study found that the Lambda mutant has three mutations in its capsid protein - RSYLTPGD246-253N, 260 L452Q and F490S - which make the variant resistant to vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies, leading to its enhanced immune escape ability; the other two mutations - T76I and L452Q - make Lambda highly infectious!

Antibodies are useless and the Lambda mutant is highly contagious. These two characteristics make it possible for the Lambda mutant to surpass Delta and become the new king of viruses!

How to prevent viruses?

Many people say that these viruses can escape immunity and that vaccination is useless. However, studies have also shown that even though more and more data now show that vaccines cannot prevent infection, vaccines can prevent severe illness! In the face of increasingly cunning new coronavirus variants, we still need vaccines to protect us. Those who have not been vaccinated should get vaccinated as soon as possible. In addition, since the new virus strains have a stronger ability to spread, we must be more careful than before, continue to do a good job of personal protection, gather as little as possible, wash hands frequently, wear masks, ventilate, and do not stay in confined spaces for a long time.