Three mutations found in Delta variant from Colombo for the first time in the world

Three unique mutations appearing in Delta variant together found for the first in the world from Colombo, Dr Chandima Jeewandara said.

Dr Jeewandara who is the Director of the Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit of Sri Jayewardenepura University said this was identified in the latest genetic sequencing carried on samples obtained from several areas in the country.

“The Indian lineage with three mutations seem to be the dominant in majority of samples in the Colombo district,” he said.

“The three mutations are A22V, A701S and A1078S. One of the mutations, which is A701S has been originated from Sri Lanka while A22V has been described in different parts of the world and A1078S mutation has been detected in Malaysia,” he underlined.

Dr Jeewandara said they were closely monitoring this as it is a significant finding and investigating the importance of this finding to see whether there is an advantage with these three mutations for the survival and transmissibility of the virus.

Meanwhile, he said out of the 88 samples of COVID-19 patients obtained from several districts, 84 cases were of Delta variant.

“The cases of Delta variant were mainly detected in the Colombo district. The other patients were detected from Kandy, Matale, Ratnapura, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Vavuniya, Maharagama, Malabe and Gampaha,” he added. (Sheain Fernandopulle)