One case of the delta plus variant mutation has been identified in Alberta

Alberta Health says one case of the delta plus variant of coronavirus, or B.1.617.2 with the K417N mutation, has been identified in the province — but the case is no longer active.

The province said it could not say where or when the variant case was identified due to privacy concerns.

The delta variant is highly contagious and quickly became the dominant strain in Alberta once it began to spread in the province. Studies suggest vaccinated people can still transmit the delta variant to others but vaccines are highly effective against serious illness and death. 

Craig Jenne, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Calgary, explains that delta plus, also known as AY.3, is the same variant as delta but with a slightly different genetic structure — it has one additional mutation.

"What does this do to the virus? The good news is it doesn't seem to really enable faster spread or more severe disease, at least in the limited data we have so far," he said.

"The problem though, as the delta variant changes step by step, this creates the future for further versions that could escape our vaccines."

The more opportunities a virus has to spread, the more opportunities it has to mutate. 

That's because, Jenne explained, every time a virus infects a new person, it makes billions of copies of itself. But some of those copies can contain errors — an evolutionary advantage as some of those changes may make the virus stronger. 

Jenne said that so far delta plus doesn't seem to be any more transmissible or deadly than the principal delta variant in jurisdictions where both versions of the variant have been circulating. 

"So it doesn't seem to have an advantage," Jenne said. "If we continue to have large numbers of cases, this could provide the foundation or the scaffold for new variants … it's something we have to keep our eye on."

Three cases of delta plus have been reported in Manitoba as well. 

The subvariant is identified as a variant of concern with the World Health Organization, as a descendent of delta. 

Cases of COVID-19 have been surging in Alberta, which had more than 8,496 active cases as of Wednesday. About 58.7 per cent of the province's total population have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.