OREANDA-NEWS. The peculiarity of the new strain of the delta-plus coronavirus is that it is extremely infectious, the India Today portal reported, citing the director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Randip Guleria.

According to the scientist, you can get infected with this mutation of the Indian strain by simply walking past a sick person without a mask. While compliance with safety precautions will help curb the spread of infection, authorities remain concerned about Delta-plus's resistance to monoclonal antibodies and its ability to bypass immunity.

"Specialists of the Indian Consortium for Genomics SARS-CoV-2 are studying it (the delta-plus strain. - Ed.), and we will find out how effective vaccines against it are," Guleria added.

The Indian variant (B.1.617) of the coronavirus was detected in March. Subsequently, three subspecies were distinguished: B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. They are distinguished by several mutations in the spike protein, due to which the pathogen enters the body, and are distributed in different ways around the world.

The "Delta" strain continues to mutate. Late last week, the Indian state of Maharashtra reported the emergence of a delta-plus option (B.1.617.2.1). In total, 22 cases of infection were recorded in India. "Delta-plus" is distinguished by the presence of the K417N mutation in the S-protein; it can reduce the activity of serum and antibodies of people who have been ill and vaccinated.