Varian Delta B1617.2 is said to dominate the surge in COVID-19 in various countries, including Indonesia and of course India, where this variant was first identified. A number of interesting facts began to emerge, ranging from sightings to the reasons behind its more contagious nature.
Why is it so contagious?
Scientists at the Center for Disease Prevention and Control in Guangdong, China, recently published the results of a study on varian Delta. They compared the viral load data of patients with the delta variant of COVID-19 with the ‘original’ variant.
As a result, patients exposed to the Delta variant had viral load or a much higher viral count and confirmed positive in a PCR test (polymerase chain reaction) earlier than the original variant.
It is believed that these two things cause the Delta variant to be more easily transmitted. This research was published in the journal preprint Virological.
Is this what the Delta variant looks like?
Viral expert Dr Jason Roberts from The Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne has recently captured the appearance of the Delta variant of the Corona virus. Mentioned, the shape is observed like a small sun under a microscope.
For ordinary people, the interpretation is more diverse. Some say it looks like rambutan, some say it looks like pepperoni pizza.
Lower CT Value?
There was an assumption that the Delta variant of COVID-19 infection was characterized by a lower CT value. Certainly not that simple, CT Value (cycle treshold value) only describes viral load or number of virus particles and cannot be used to identify virus variants. Any variant of COVID-19 can provide a high or low CT Value, depending on viral load-nya.
Identification of virus variants is only done by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).
But that doesn’t mean it’s not related at all. The Ministry of Health epidemiologically uses the CT Value average data to estimate the likelihood of varian Delta entered an area.
“The low CT indeed illustrates that the virus level is high. It is a feature of the new variants,” said Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin at a press conference, Friday (9/7/2021).
Watch Videos”Minister of Delta Variant Characteristics: Lower CT, Faster Active Time“
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