All about ‘Delta’ from Prof. Malavige

“While finding Delta is bad news, we have vaccines to prevent severe disease and death”

The Delta

(Indian) variant has been found among the people at Dematagoda, in samples on which genetic sequencing was conducted this week.

Confirming the findings, Prof. Neelika Malavige,

Head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura told the Sunday Times that in early June she and her team including department Director Dr. Chandima Jeewandara saw the ‘S drop’ in some samples sent from the Colombo Municipal Council area of Dematagoda.

“We suspected that it could be due to a new variant,” she said.

After genetic sequencing, which is very time-consuming, they found on Thursday that it is the Delta variant. Earlier, this variant had been found in samples from a quarantine centre.

Prof. Malavige said that they also performed sequencing on samples from Borella (Colombo 8), Maradana (Colombo 10) and Wellawatte (Colombo 6). These infections were due to the Alpha (United Kingdom – UK) variant and not the Delta variant. Therefore, so far, the Delta ‘area’ is not all over Colombo, but that can change anytime. Unlike an infection detected in a quarantine centre, it is very difficult to contain a virus, once found in the community.

“Studies in the UK, where both variants are circulating, have found that Delta is ‘fitter’ and ‘more dangerous’ than Alpha,” she says, adding that it has already overtaken Alpha in the UK, becoming the dominant variant, resulting in 93% of infections within a matter of weeks.

The dangers, according to Prof. Malavige, are:

▪ Delta could easily become the dominant variant doing the rounds in Sri Lanka.

▪ There could be more rapid spread, as Delta is 50% more transmissible than Alpha.

▪ Delta causes more severe disease and deaths than Alpha.

▪ Studies in the UK have also shown that the effectivity of the vaccines being used there (Pfizer and AstraZeneca) was less against Delta than against Alpha. This was although the efficacy of reducing hospitalization was over 85% for both vaccines in the case of Delta. If only one dose of these vaccines has been taken, the protection dropped drastically.

▪ Sri Lanka has given around 350,000 people both doses of AstraZeneca, while 600,000 people have got only one jab. Therefore, the latter group is unlikely to be protected from Delta.

▪ The efficacy against Delta from the other vaccines available in Sri Lanka – Sinopharm and Sputnik V – is not known, as studies have not been done on them. Their efficacy against the original virus is 79% and 91% respectively.

▪ Based on data, both Sinopharm and Sputnik V, and all COVID-19 vaccines have shown that they are effective and significantly reduce severe disease and death, which is important. Therefore, while finding Delta is bad news, we do have very safe and effective vaccines to prevent severe disease and death.

Prof. Malavige urges that we should not allow Delta to have its way. It is very important to identify people who are infected, through testing, so that they can isolate themselves quickly.

Importance of timely medical care

“We have had bad dengue epidemics before and all of us have worked together to reduce mortality (death) rates. While vaccines are the ultimate solution, it is vital for people who develop certain ‘warning symptoms’ to come forward for treatment as soon as possible, as we do for dengue,” she said, reiterating that timely medical care can sig

nificantly reduce/prevent deaths.

It is equally crucial for every person to follow social distancing and wear face-masks, even more than before, to contain the outbreak. There cannot be indefinite lockdowns as many impoverished people suffer. It is gatherings that are responsible for most of the spread. This is why there is a need to stop all gatherings for a very long time and for people to take collective responsibility, she said.

Prof. Malavige added: “If we are to come out of this, all of us have to try our best to limit unnecessary movement and functions (alms-givings, pirith, parties, etc.), so that people who need to work, can work and will not starve. Even if you are fully vaccinated, you can get infected without showing symptoms and spread the infection to unvaccinated people. We need to be mindful about our responsibility to others while safeguarding ourselves.”