Two new versions of variants have appeared in the archipelago. Delta and Iota have mutations that make the virus more resistant.
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The archipelago already had the so-called English, Brazilian and South African variants. The director general of the Regional Health Agency, Valérie Denux, confirmed last week the presence of two new versions: “Delta” and “Iota”, respectively called “Indian” and “Californian”. Two new arrivals who worry the health authorities.
The epidemic situation remains rather favorable according to the authorities. All eyes are turned less to the numbers than to the nature of the results.
As a reminder, for the week of June 7 to 13, 120 new cases of Covid-19 were identified in Guadeloupe, bringing to 16,752 the number of cumulative confirmed cases since the start of the epidemic in March 2020.
First subject, the Delta variant
Guadeloupe is the first territory of the Antilles where he puts down his suitcases, imported by 6 people from France, for a funeral. 18 other people, contact cases, are followed, according to the Regional Health Agency.
This variant results from 15 specific mutations, 2 of which are of particular interest. They allow the virus to escape antibodies and could potentially make it resistant to the vaccine and treatments.
Second subject, the Iota variant
It is also the first detected in the French Antilles. According to the authorities, no secondary case was detected among the identified contact cases.
Iota also has two mutations that worry researchers. They would allow the virus to escape antibodies and bind more closely to human cells.
It was in New York, in November 2020, that the Californian variant was spotted for the first time. Last April, it was present in at least 48 US states and 18 countries. It owes its entry into our archipelago to a traveler from Saint-Martin.
Iota is one of the variants being evaluated, according to the classification of the World Health Organization.
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