The first two cases of the Covid-19 Delta Plus variant in Malaysia have been confirmed

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

The Malaysian Health Ministry confirmed today that the first two AY.4.2 Delta subvariant cases have been discovered.

The AY.4.2 strain, also known as the Delta Plus variation, was found in two Malaysian students who returned from the United Kingdom (UK) on October 2, according to Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham.

"The two Malaysians landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on October 2nd with negative RT-PCR results.

"However, during the quarantine period, their second test, performed on October 7, came back positive.

 

"The results of UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute's (UMBI-UKM) whole genome sequencing were announced on October 30," he stated.

Dr. Noor Hisham stated that the current vaccines were still effective against the AY.4.2 variety, and that quarantine and testing could help to limit the danger of transmission in Malaysia, particularly at international entry ports.

 

He went on to say that the Health Ministry will keep an eye on things and see if the Delta sub-variant had spread throughout the neighbourhood.

As of the end of October, the AY.4.2 variation accounted for 10% of complete genome sequencing in the United Kingdom.

On October 20, the UK Health Security Agency designated the AY.4.2 variant as Variant Under Investigation (VUI) because it contains two additional genetic alterations, Y145H and A222V.

In the meantime, he claimed, another 90 Delta instances have been discovered as of today, 44 by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) and 46 by the UMBI-UKM.

 

The bulk of cases were reported in the Malaysian states of Johor and Sabah.
Both states recorded 27 incidents, with Negri Sembilan and Selangor reporting ten each, Kuala Lumpur nine, Pahang four, Kelantan, Melaka, and Perlis each reporting four (one each).

In Negri Sembilan, two AY.4.2 instances were discovered.

 

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Edited November 8, 2021 by ASEAN NOW Content Team