The variant - a strain of the original delta variant that led to India's devastating second wave - contains a mutation that was also present in the South African or beta variant.
This mutation - K417N - was also present in beta, against which some vaccines were less effective
So far more than 40 cases of the 'delta plus' variant have been found across seven Indian states.
While this strain was classified as a variant of concern on Tuesday by India’s state-run genome sequencing consortium, INSACOG, scientists there said the move was precautionary
"We don’t see any differences in transmission between this and the delta variant. But, since all delta lineages are variants of concern, we have also labelled this one as a variant of concern," said Dr Anurag Agrawal, director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology
The new 'delta plus' variant has been identified in nine other countries, including the UK, where the first case was detected in April.
According to Public Health England 38 cases have been identified here as of June 16
.@BallouxFrancois said that given the low number of cases reported, it was impossible to say whether it was more transmissible, more lethal or if it is likely to evade vaccines
Indian also doctors told @Telegraph that they are yet to see a sudden resurgence in infections that would indicate the spread of a new, more transmissible variant
"Cases have been declining and we haven’t seen a recent spike in admissions. But, we have to be vigilant, as we don’t know enough about this new variant yet," said Dr Rommel Tickoo, associate director at Max Healthcare, one of India’s leading private hospital chains
The Indian Government received heavy criticism for not reacting fast enough to warnings about the emergence of the delta variant in the spring, and it is understood the authorities will take an overly cautious approach in the future
The Indian Ministry of Health has said the new delta plus is a variant of concern because it was more transmissible and binds to a receptor on the lung, but with only 40 samples sequenced in India so far, a lot more research is needed
Scientists say that as new daily infections continue to drop there is no indication of a third wave happening yet.
In the meantime, Indians are being urged to adhere to Covid-19 precautions
We have the right technology to extinguish the next pandemic threat within a decade – but politicians have to unite and channel resources into three main areas:
China has now jabbed the equivalent of around a sixth of the world's population.
In other words, of the 2.7 billion doses that have been administered around the world, more than a third have been given in the communist nation
This is a sharp increase from a couple of months ago.
In April, China gave out around five million doses a day. Two months later, this has risen to around 20 million – the equivalent of jabbing almost a third of the UK’s population every single day
"Africa is in the midst of a full-blown third wave," @MoetiTshidi said. "The sobering trajectory of surging cases should draw everyone to urgent action.
“We've seen, in India and elsewhere, how quickly Covid-19 can rebound and overwhelm health systems" telegraph.co.uk/global-health/…
In total, the vast continent has seen five million Covid cases since the pandemic began, and 156,000 deaths.
For context, Europe - with 748 million people - has seen almost 33 million cases, and 730,000 deaths.
But experts worry Africa's caseload could be vastly underreported
💉German pharmaceutical company CureVac has blamed the emergence of new variants for disappointing results of its Covid vaccine telegraph.co.uk/global-health/…
Interim phase two/three results showed that the vaccine, based on mRNA technology, was only 47% - below the 50% threshold required by the @WHO
The disappointing results will come as a blow to countries that have put in advance orders on the vaccine at a time when jabs are in short supply globally and new variants mean booster shots may be required
The devastating “black fungus”, overwise known as mucormycosis, is a fast-moving, aggressive infection that attacks a person’s sinuses, lungs and brain and is deadly if not treated
The devastating “black fungus”, overwise known as mucormycosis, is a fast-moving, aggressive infection that attacks a person’s sinuses, lungs and brain and is deadly if not treated
It is thought that the new strain, known as Delta or B.1.617, may be causing unprecedented damage to the pancreas of otherwise healthy people, triggering sudden onset diabetes and soaring blood glucose levels
This allows the deadly flesh-eating fungus to thrive