In order to identify the Covid-19 strain, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday has labeled the latest Indian strain as “Delta Variant.” Earlier on May 12, India had objected “B.1.617” variant when called the ‘Indian variant’.

Thereafter, the WHO said that names of the viruses or variants should not be identified by the country names they were found in.

"The labels don't replace existing scientific names, which convey important scientific information and will continue to be used in research. No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting Covid variants," said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical lead COVID-19 at WHO.

However, the variant found earlier in India will be called “Kappa,” said the WHO.

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Moreover, the nomenclature system that has been developed for naming and tracking of SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages will remain in use by the scientists for their research, WHO added.

A group convened by WHO has also recommended using the Greek letters which include Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and so on as it “will be easier and more practical to be discussed by non-scientific audiences.”

It may be noted here, WHO had officially found lineages of the B.1.617variant in 53 territories and unofficially in seven countries. As per the research, the variant carries the high potential threat of spread, while the study is underway to know about its severity and infection risk.

The B.1.617 variant was initially found in October and as of now, it has spread to 44 countries. "As such, we are classifying this as a variant of concern at the global level," it had said. However, prior to this, it was listed as a "variant of interest".

Pertinently, B.1.617 strain is called a double mutant because of change in two virus’s genome i.e. E484Q and L452R.

Meanwhile, the other three strains which have been detected in Britain, Brazil, and South Africa, are already classified as being "of concern".

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