This variant was first identified in Lima, Peru in early November 2020, and has since spread to six other South American countries and 22 more in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Israel in the Middle East, Zimbabwe, the UK and recently in Australia.
By the April and May of this year, this variant became dominant and accounted for four in every five cases in Peru, and a significant proportion in neighbouring Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador.
It's a sublineage within B.1.1.1 now classified as C.37
Researchers at the Welcome Sanger Institute in the UK (Covid-19 Genomics) state that "Lambda has a unique pattern of seven mutations in the spike protein and they are particularly intrigued by one mutation called L452Q, which is similar to the L452R mutation to contribute to the high infectiousness of the Delta variant."
PHE (Public Health England) states that -
"There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines currently deployed any less effective"
A study published on last Monday found evidence that mRNA-type vaccines still effective and PHE probably backed that.
Also PHE mentions that this variant can present with -
A high temperature
A new, continuous cough
A loss or change to sense of smell or taste
BUT, if you look at the data from Peru, it shows a mortality rate from the new variant of nearly 600 per 100,000 or six percent — twice as high as the roughly three percent seen in other countries. It's not clear whether the variant or the overwhelmed medical system accounted for more deaths.
For anyone interested here are the shared mutations and deletions of this variant.
Notes:
Deletions in the ORF1a and Spike genes are shown in bold.
This lineage also share a distinct seven-amino acid deletion in the Spike gene (S: Δ246-252).
There's a novel combination of nonsynonymous mutations in Spike: G75V, T76I, L452Q, F490S, T859N.
Mutations L452Q and F490S both map to the Spike protein’s receptor-binding domain (RBD). L452Q is almost exclusive to C.37.
S:Δ246-252 deletion should be taken into consideration for validation of diagnostic tests - as some kits might fail.
By the April and May of this year, this variant became dominant and accounted for four in every five cases in Peru, and a significant proportion in neighbouring Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador.
It's a sublineage within B.1.1.1 now classified as C.37
Researchers at the Welcome Sanger Institute in the UK (Covid-19 Genomics) state that "Lambda has a unique pattern of seven mutations in the spike protein and they are particularly intrigued by one mutation called L452Q, which is similar to the L452R mutation to contribute to the high infectiousness of the Delta variant."
PHE (Public Health England) states that -
"There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines currently deployed any less effective"
A study published on last Monday found evidence that mRNA-type vaccines still effective and PHE probably backed that.
Also PHE mentions that this variant can present with -
A high temperature
A new, continuous cough
A loss or change to sense of smell or taste
BUT, if you look at the data from Peru, it shows a mortality rate from the new variant of nearly 600 per 100,000 or six percent — twice as high as the roughly three percent seen in other countries. It's not clear whether the variant or the overwhelmed medical system accounted for more deaths.
For anyone interested here are the shared mutations and deletions of this variant.
| Gene | Amino acid |
| N | P13L, R203K, G204R, G214C |
| ORF1a | T1246I, P2287S, F2387V, L3201P, T3255I, G3278S, S3675-, G3676-, F3677-, K3678R |
| ORF1b | P314L |
| ORF9b | P10S |
| S | G75V, T76I, R246-, S247-, Y248-, L249-, T250-, P251-, G252-, L452Q, F490S, D614G, T859N |
Notes:
Deletions in the ORF1a and Spike genes are shown in bold.
This lineage also share a distinct seven-amino acid deletion in the Spike gene (S: Δ246-252).
There's a novel combination of nonsynonymous mutations in Spike: G75V, T76I, L452Q, F490S, T859N.
Mutations L452Q and F490S both map to the Spike protein’s receptor-binding domain (RBD). L452Q is almost exclusive to C.37.
S:Δ246-252 deletion should be taken into consideration for validation of diagnostic tests - as some kits might fail.
