Scientists decode secrets behind severity of Delta

City scientists have decoded the secrets behind the severity of the Delta variant that left a trail of death during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

- Syed Akbar

Hyderabad: A team from the city-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has found that the Delta variant outgrown the earlier variants by silencing the natural immunity in people. While all the earlier variants could produce quick immune response from the infected in the form of cytokine storm, the Delta suppressed the human immune system and prevented it from acting against the virus, leading to severity of the disease.

The researchers established that the Delta variant had potently suppressed innate immune response and evaded interferon-activated antiviral responses. Interferon is a protein manufactured by the body to fight viral infection preventing it from replication. But the Delta had successfully evaded this body’s defence mechanism and went on to play havoc with the lives of people.