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Lambda variant, also known as lineage C.37, is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.[1] It was first detected in Peru in August 2020.[2] On 14 June 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) named it Lambda variant[1] and designated it as a variant of interest.[3] It has spread to at least 30 countries[4] around the world and is known to be more resistant to neutralizing antibodies compared to other strains.[5][6][7] There is evidence that suggests the Lambda variant is both more infectious and resistant to vaccines than the Alpha and/or Gamma variant.[8][9]

Mutations[edit]

The Lambda genome has the following amino acid mutations, all of which are in the virus's spike protein code: G75V, T76I, Δ246-252, L452Q, F490S, D614G and T859N.[10]

History[edit]

First samples of the Lambda variant were detected in Peru in August 2020[2] and by April 2021, over eighty percent of new cases of COVID-19 in Peru were from the new variant.[1][12] In mid-June 2021, 90.6% of new COVID-19 cases in Arequipa and 78.1% of new cases in Cusco were the Lambda variant, according to the Peruvian Ministry of Health.[13] By this time the Lambda variant had also spread throughout South America and was detected in twenty-nine countries in total, especially in Argentina, Chile and Ecuador.[12][14] The WHO designated the Lambda variant as a "variant of interest" on 14 June 2021.[1]

On 6 July 2021, Australia reported its first case of the Lambda variant in an overseas traveler who had been in a New South Wales quarantine hotel in April.[15]

On 19 July 2021, Texas reported its first case of the Lambda variant.[16] On 22 July 2021, Florida reported 126 cumulative confirmed cases of the Lambda variant.[17] On 28 July 2021, University of Miami researchers announced random sampling showed 3 percent of COVID-19 patients in Jackson Memorial Health System and at University of Miami’s UHealth Tower were infected with it.[18] On 5 August 2021, Louisiana reported its first case of the Lambda variant.[19]

On 7 August 2021, Japan confirmed its first case of the Lambda variant, with the infected person arriving in Japan from Peru on 20 July.[20]

On 15 August 2021, the Philippines confirmed its first case of the Lambda variant.[21]

Statistics[edit]

Cases by country (Updated as of 23 August 2021) GISAID[22]
Country Confirmed cases Collection date
 Chile 1,489 13 July 2021
 United States 848 5 August 2021
 Peru 1,480 15 June 2021
 Ecuador 194 20 July 2021
 Mexico 189 14 July 2021
 Spain 124 7 July 2021
 Argentina 111 24 June 2021
 Germany 87 13 July 2021
 France 56 19 July 2021
 Colombia 51 29 June 2021
 Israel 25 9 May 2021
  Switzerland 8 25 July 2021
 Canada 26 21 June 2021
 The Netherlands 3 11 July 2021
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 10 6 June 2021
 Belgium 2 23 July 2021
 United Kingdom 8 10 July 2021
 Italy 12 26 June 2021
 Brazil 7 21 June 2021
 India 6 12 April 2021
 Denmark 1 11 August 2021
 Sweden 1 15 July 2021
 South Africa 3 14 July 2021
 Portugal 1 10 June 2021
 Qatar 3 13 April 2021
 Latvia 2 30 April 2021
 Aruba 2 2 June 2021
 Bolivia 1 2 June 2021
 Uruguay 1 15 April 2021
 Australia 1 3 April 2021
 Lithuania 1 19 May 2021
 Norway 1 7 July 2021
 Estonia 1 1 April 2021
 Russia 1 21 March 2021
 Finland 1 31 May 2021
 Turkey 1 8 February 2021
 Bangladesh 1 20 March 2021
 Japan 1 7 August 2021
 Philippines 1 15 August 2021[23]
 Venezuela 2 5 May 2021
 Mayotte 1 15 July 2021
 El Salvador 3 30 April 2021
 Guatemala 1 3 July 2021
 Costa Rica 4 20 July 2021
 World (44 countries) Total: 4,763 Total as of 23 August 2021

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". World Health Organization. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  2. ^ a b "Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 15 June 2021" (PDF) (44 ed.). World Health Organization. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-16. Lambda has been associated with substantive rates of community transmission in multiple countries, with rising prevalence over time concurrent with increased COVID-19 incidence. The earliest sequenced samples were reported from Peru in August 2020.
  3. ^ "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". who.int. World Health Organization. Updated frequently.
  4. ^ "Covid 19 coronavirus: Ultra-contagious Lambda variant detected in Australia". New Zealand Herald. 6 July 2021.
  5. ^ "SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant exhibits higher infectivity and immune resistance". bioRxiv Preprint Server for Biology. 28 July 2021.
  6. ^ "COVID-19: Lambda variant may be more resistant to vaccines than other strains". World Is One News. 6 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Lambda variant: What is the new strain of Covid detected in the UK?". The Independent. 6 July 2021.
  8. ^ Mohammadi, Mehrdad; Shayestehpour, Mohammad; Mirzaei, Hamed (2021-07-01). "The impact of spike mutated variants of SARS-CoV2 [Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Lambda] on the efficacy of subunit recombinant vaccines". The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases. 25 (4): 101606. doi:10.1016/j.bjid.2021.101606. ISSN 1413-8670.
  9. ^ Acevedo, Mónica L.; Alonso-Palomares, Luis; Bustamante, Andrés; Gaggero, Aldo; Paredes, Fabio; Cortés, Claudia P.; Valiente-Echeverría, Fernando; Soto-Rifo, Ricardo (2021-07-01). "Infectivity and immune escape of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest Lambda": 2021.06.28.21259673. doi:10.1101/2021.06.28.21259673v1. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ Robertson, Sally (27 June 2021). "Lambda lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has potential to become variant of concern". news-medical.net. Retrieved 2021-07-05. The Lambda variant also contained a novel deletion (Δ246-252) and multiple nonsynonymous mutations (G75V, T76I, L452Q, F490S, D614G, and T859N) in the gene that encodes the viral spike protein.
  11. ^ "Spike Variants: Lambda variant, aka B.1.1.1". covdb.stanford.edu. Stanford University Coronavirus Antiviral & Resistance Database. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  12. ^ a b "WHO reports on Lambda: the new variant of COVID-19 that is affecting South America". Entrepreneur. 2021-06-17. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  13. ^ Acosta, Sebastián (2021-06-16). "Coronavirus en Perú | Minsa: El 90,6 % de los contagios en Arequipa se deben a la variante Lambda" [Coronavirus in Peru | Minsa: 90.6% of infections in Arequipa are due to the Lambda variant]. RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  14. ^ Mendez, Rich (2021-06-16). "WHO says delta Covid variant has now spread to 80 countries and it keeps mutating". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  15. ^ "Covid-19 Australia: Strain more transmissible than Delta hits Australia". News.com.au. 6 July 2021.
  16. ^ EDT, Khaleda Rahman On 7/20/21 at 7:09 AM (2021-07-20). "Lambda COVID variant detected in Texas hospital". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
  17. ^ "US, South American researchers monitoring Lambda COVID-19 variant as cases surge". Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  18. ^ "New evidence shows the COVID-19 Delta variant rapidly rising". news.miami.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  19. ^ WBRZ. "First cases of COVID Lambda variant reported in North Louisiana". WBRZ. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  20. ^ "Japan confirms first case of lambda variant infection". The Japan Times. 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  21. ^ Garcia, Ma. Angelica (August 15, 2021). "First lambda variant case detected in the Philippines". GMA News. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  22. ^ "GISAID - hCov19 Variants". www.gisaid.org. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
  23. ^ Press Release (August 15, 2021). "DOH, UP-PGC, and UP-NIH confirm additional COVID-19 variant cases including first case of Lambda variant". Department of Health, Government of the Philippines.