SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant
The Lambda variant, also known as lineage C.37, is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.[1] It was first detected in Peru in August 2020.[2] On 14 June 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) named it Lambda variant[1] and designated it as a variant of interest.[3] It has spread to at least 30 countries[4] around the world and is known to be more resistant to neutralizing antibodies compared to other strains.[5][6][7] There is evidence that suggests the Lambda variant is both more infectious and resistant to vaccines than the Alpha and/or Gamma variant.[8][9]
Amino acid mutations of SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant plotted on a genome map of SARS-CoV-2 with a focus on the spike.[11]
![Amino acid mutations of SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant plotted on a genome map of SARS-CoV-2 with a focus on the spike.[11]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/SARS-CoV-2_Lambda_variant.svg/3658px-SARS-CoV-2_Lambda_variant.svg.png)
The Lambda genome has the following amino acid mutations, all of which are in the virus's spike protein code: G75V, T76I, Δ246-252, L452Q, F490S, D614G and T859N.[10]
History
First samples of the Lambda variant were detected in Peru in August 2020[2] and by April 2021, over eighty percent of new cases of COVID-19 in Peru were from the new variant.[1][12] In mid-June 2021, 90.6% of new COVID-19 cases in Arequipa and 78.1% of new cases in Cusco were the Lambda variant, according to the Peruvian Ministry of Health.[13] By this time the Lambda variant had also spread throughout South America and was detected in twenty-nine countries in total, especially in Argentina, Chile and Ecuador.[12][14] The WHO designated the Lambda variant as a "variant of interest" on 14 June 2021.[1]
On 6 July 2021, Australia reported its first case of the Lambda variant in an overseas traveler who had been in a New South Wales quarantine hotel in April.[15]
On 19 July 2021, Texas reported its first case of the Lambda variant.[16] On 22 July 2021, Florida reported 126 cumulative confirmed cases of the Lambda variant.[17] On 28 July 2021, University of Miami researchers announced random sampling showed 3 percent of COVID-19 patients in Jackson Memorial Health System and at University of Miami's UHealth Tower were infected with it.[18] On 5 August 2021, Louisiana reported its first case of the Lambda variant.[19]
On 7 August 2021, Japan confirmed its first case of the Lambda variant, with the infected person arriving in Japan from Peru on 20 July.[20]
On 15 August 2021, the Philippines confirmed its first case of the Lambda variant.[21]