New sub-lineage of Delta variant detected in Sri Lanka

A new sub-lineage of the Delta variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Sri Lanka.

Director of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Dr. Chandima Jeewandara said that the new sub-lineage has been named B.1.617.2.104.

“Sri Lanka now has another delta sub lineage: In addition to B.1.617.2.28 sub lineage, another sub lineage in Sri Lanka has been assigned as B.1.617.2.104,” Dr. Chandima Jeewandara tweeted.

He said that the Delta variants in Sri Lanka now have two unique sub lineages that originated in Sri Lanka, AY.28 and AY.104.

Dr. Chandima Jeewandara also noted that?Sri Lanka now has three SARS-CoV-2 variants that originated in Sri Lanka.

The first SARS-CoV-2 variants that originated in Sri Lanka was B.411, which is a lineage of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 virus. (Colombo Gazette)