According to Malaysia’s health ministry, the lambda variation of the coronavirus is proving to be more deadly than the Delta type, which was first detected in India. In the last four weeks, cases of the lambda variation have been found in more than 30 nations, according to the report.
“The Lambda strain was reported to have originated from Peru, the country with the highest mortality rate in the world,” the Malaysian health ministry tweeted on Monday.
On June 14, scientists from the World Health Organization designated the Lambda variant of SARS-CoV-2, previously known as C.37, as the seventh “variant of interest”.
The Lambda variant, however, is not new and has possibly been around since last year, as early as August 2020. It is attributed to have caused at least 80% of the infections in Peru, where scientists believe it originated.
Public Health England has also designated the Lambda (C.37) variant as a ‘variant under investigation (VUI)’. The experts are saying that the Lambda variant has shown multiple mutations in spike protein.
India has not officially reported a case of Lambda variant so far, nor have any of its neighboring countries. Israel is the only Asian nation to have recorded this variant till now. Several European countries from where there is frequent travel to India, have detected the strain.
