A new coronavirus variant carrying a mutation that appears to make it more transmissible has been detected in the U.S.
The variant, called AY.1 or 'Delta plus,' is a sub-lineage of the mutant strain that was first detected in India and is spreading across the globe.
It has acquired the spike protein mutation called K417N, which is also found in the Beta variant first identified in South Africa.
Some scientists worry that the mutation, coupled with other existing features of the Indian 'Delta' variant, may lead to it spreading more easily.
It is currently unclear where the variant originated with some researchers saying it may have come from Nepal, others saying it first cropped up in India and a few suggesting Europe is the origin point.
According to a recent report from the UK government, at least 85 cases have been found in America, but there is no evidence that Delta plus is rapidly spreading across the country.
As of June 16, at least 85 cases of the 'Delta plus' coronavirus variant - which has a mutation that makes it more transmissible - have been detected in the U.S.
Samples have been found in California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington as early as April 22, but there is no evidence the variant is rapidly spreading
As of June 16, at least 197 cases has been found from 11 countries: Britain, Canada, India, Japan, Nepal, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.S.
The earliest case in India is from a sample taken on April 5 and health ministers say around 40 cases have been observed in the states of Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, with 'no significant increase in prevalence'.
Britain said its first five cases were sequenced on April 26 and they were contacts of individuals who had travelled from, or transited through, Nepal and Turkey.
No deaths were reported among the UK and Indian cases.
Meanwhile, according to outbreak.info, the variant was first detected in the U.S. on April 22 and it makes up less than 0.5 percent of cases.
The website lists California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington as the states where samples have been identified.
Studies are ongoing in India and globally to test the effectiveness of vaccines against this mutation.
'WHO is tracking this variant as part of the Delta variant, as we are doing for other Variants of Concern with additional mutations,' the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement sent to Reuters.
'For the moment, this variant does not seem to be common, currently accounting for only a small fraction of the Delta sequences...Delta and other circulating Variants of Concern remain a higher public health risk as they have demonstrated increases in transmission.'
But India's
