SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant explained

The Lambda variant, also known as lineage C.37, is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.[1] It was first detected in Peru in August 2020.[2] On 14 June 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) named it Lambda variant[1] and designated it as a variant of interest.[3] It has spread to at least 30 countries[4] around the world and is known to be more resistant to neutralizing antibodies compared to other strains.[5] [6] [7] There is evidence that suggests the Lambda variant is both more infectious and resistant to vaccines than the Alpha and/or Gamma variant.[8] [9]

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Mutations

The Lambda genome has the following amino acid mutations, all of which are in the virus's spike protein code: G75V, T76I, Δ246-252, L452Q, F490S, D614G and T859N.[10]

History

First samples of the Lambda variant were detected in Peru in August 2020 and by April 2021, over eighty percent of new cases of COVID-19 in Peru were from the new variant.[1] [11] In mid-June 2021, 90.6% of new COVID-19 cases in Arequipa and 78.1% of new cases in Cusco were the Lambda variant, according to the Peruvian Ministry of Health.[12] By this time the Lambda variant had also spread throughout South America and was detected in twenty-nine countries in total, especially in Argentina, Chile and Ecuador.[13] The WHO designated the Lambda variant as a "variant of interest" on 14 June 2021.

On 6 July 2021, Australia reported its first case of the Lambda variant in an overseas traveler who had been in a New South Wales quarantine hotel in April.[14]

On 19 July 2021, Texas reported its first case of the Lambda variant.[15] On 22 July 2021, Florida reported 126 cumulative confirmed cases of the Lambda variant.[16] On 28 July 2021, University of Miami researchers announced random sampling showed 3 percent of COVID-19 patients in Jackson Memorial Health System and at University of Miami's UHealth Tower were infected with it.[17] On 5 August 2021, Louisiana reported its first case of the Lambda variant.[18]

On 7 August 2021, Japan confirmed its first case of the Lambda variant, with the infected person arriving in Japan from Peru on 20 July.[19]

On 15 August 2021, the Philippines confirmed its first case of the Lambda variant.[20]

Statistics

Cases by country (Updated as of 23 August 2021) GISAID[21]
CountryConfirmed casesCollection date
1,48913 July 2021
1,48015 June 2021
8485 August 2021
19420 July 2021
18914 July 2021
1247 July 2021
11124 June 2021
8713 July 2021
5619 July 2021
5129 June 2021
259 May 2021
825 July 2021
2621 June 2021
311 July 2021
106 June 2021
223 July 2021
810 July 2021
1226 June 2021
721 June 2021
612 April 2021
111 August 2021
115 July 2021
314 July 2021
110 June 2021
313 April 2021
230 April 2021
22 June 2021
12 June 2021
115 April 2021
13 April 2021
119 May 2021
17 July 2021
11 April 2021
121 March 2021
131 May 2021
18 February 2021
120 March 2021
17 August 2021
115 August 2021[22]
25 May 2021
115 July 2021
330 April 2021
13 July 2021
420 July 2021
World (44 countries)Total: 4,763Total as of 23 August 2021

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants. 2021-06-17. World Health Organization. en.
  2. Web site: Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 15 June 2021 . 44 . 15 June 2021 . . 2021-08-16 . Lambda has been associated with substantive rates of community transmission in multiple countries, with rising prevalence over time concurrent with increased COVID-19 incidence. The earliest sequenced samples were reported from Peru in August 2020..
  3. Web site: Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants . who.int . en . World Health Organization. Updated frequently.
  4. News: Covid 19 coronavirus: Ultra-contagious Lambda variant detected in Australia. New Zealand Herald . 6 July 2021.
  5. 10.1101/2021.07.28.454085 . SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant exhibits higher infectivity and immune resistance . 28 July 2021 . Kimura . Izumi . Kosugi . Yusuke . Wu . Jiaqi . Yamasoba . Daichi . Butlertanaka . Erika P. . Tanaka . Yuri L. . Liu . Yafei . Shirakawa . Kotaro . Kazuma . Yasuhiro . Nomura . Ryosuke . Horisawa . Yoshihito . Tokunaga . Kenzo . Takaori-Kondo . Akifumi . Arase . Hisashi . Saito . Akatsuki . Nakagawa . So . Sato . Kei.
  6. News: COVID-19: Lambda variant may be more resistant to vaccines than other strains . World Is One News . 6 July 2021.
  7. News: Lambda variant: What is the new strain of Covid detected in the UK? . The Independent . 6 July 2021.
  8. Mohammadi. Mehrdad. Shayestehpour. Mohammad. Mirzaei. Hamed. 2021-07-01. The impact of spike mutated variants of SARS-CoV2 [Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Lambda] on the efficacy of subunit recombinant vaccines. The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases. en. 25. 4. 101606. 10.1016/j.bjid.2021.101606. 34428473. 8367756. 1413-8670.
  9. Acevedo . Mónica L. . Alonso-Palomares . Luis . Bustamante . Andrés . Gaggero . Aldo . Paredes . Fabio . Cortés . Claudia P. . Valiente-Echeverría . Fernando . Soto-Rifo . Ricardo . 2021-07-01 . Infectivity and immune escape of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest Lambda . en . 10.1101/2021.06.28.21259673v1.
  10. News: Robertson . Sally . 27 June 2021 . Lambda lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has potential to become variant of concern . news-medical.net . 2021-07-05 . The Lambda variant also contained a novel deletion (Δ246-252) and multiple nonsynonymous mutations (G75V, T76I, L452Q, F490S, D614G, and T859N) in the gene that encodes the viral spike protein..
  11. Web site: 2021-06-17. WHO reports on Lambda: the new variant of COVID-19 that is affecting South America. 2021-06-17. Entrepreneur. en.
  12. News: Acosta. Sebastián. 2021-06-16. Coronavirus en Perú Minsa: El 90,6 % de los contagios en Arequipa se deben a la variante Lambda . Coronavirus in Peru Minsa: 90.6% of infections in Arequipa are due to the Lambda variant . es. RPP. 17 June 2021.
  13. Web site: Mendez. Rich. 2021-06-16. WHO says delta Covid variant has now spread to 80 countries and it keeps mutating. 2021-06-17. CNBC. en.
  14. News: Covid-19 Australia: Strain more transmissible than Delta hits Australia . News.com.au . 6 July 2021 .
  15. Web site: EDT. Khaleda Rahman On 7/20/21 at 7:09 AM. 2021-07-20. Lambda COVID variant detected in Texas hospital. 2021-07-22. Newsweek. en.
  16. Web site: US, South American researchers monitoring Lambda COVID-19 variant as cases surge. 23 July 2021 . 2021-07-29. en-US.
  17. Web site: New evidence shows the COVID-19 Delta variant rapidly rising. 2021-07-29. news.miami.edu. en.
  18. Web site: WBRZ. First cases of COVID Lambda variant reported in North Louisiana. 2021-08-06. WBRZ. en.
  19. Web site: 2021-08-07. Japan confirms first case of lambda variant infection. 2021-08-07. The Japan Times. en-US. 2021-09-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210929124814/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/07/national/science-health/japan-lambda/. dead.
  20. News: Ma. Angelica. Garcia. August 15, 2021. First lambda variant case detected in the Philippines. GMA News. August 15, 2021.
  21. Web site: GISAID - hCov19 Variants. 2021-08-23. www.gisaid.org.
  22. Web site: Press Release. August 15, 2021. DOH, UP-PGC, and UP-NIH confirm additional COVID-19 variant cases including first case of Lambda variant. Department of Health, Government of the Philippines. August 23, 2021. December 4, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211204163139/https://doh.gov.ph/press-release/DOH-UP-PGC-AND-UP-NIH-CONFIRM-ADDITIONAL-COVID-19-VARIANT-CASES-INCLUDING-FIRST-CASE-OF-LAMBDA-VARIANT. dead.

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