Proportion of Delta variant samples triples in Brazil in one month

The proportion of the Delta variant of the coronavirus identified in samples of SARS-CoV-2 — and registered on the international Gisaid platform, which gathers genomic data from 172 countries — has tripled in Brazil in the last four weeks. 

Back on July 27, the delta variant represented 12.8 percent of all samples of the disease in the country; now it corresponds to 38.5 percent of the total. Meanwhile, the Gamma variant of the virus, which about a month ago was nearly 90 percent of the samples, now accounts for 60 percent.

The increase in the Delta variant in the country can also be seen in the number of cases registered in large Brazilian cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In the first, the highly contagious variant already represents 45 percent of the city’s coronavirus cases. In the latter, it accounts for 23.5 percent. 

For virologists, the growth is still within the expected range, as the country has not had an explosion of cases of the variant. However, due to the rapid advance of Delta cases in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization recommends the situation be treated with caution.

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