Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian Health Ministry reported that the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tended to infect patients below 18 years of age in several regions that recorded a spike in cases.
“In some hospitals, the Delta variant tends to affect patients under the age of 18. There is also a patient aged 10 years infected with this variant. The findings are based on our observations to see the differences between the Delta variant and other variants of the coronavirus,” Acting Director General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Health Ministry, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, remarked.
During a virtual event titled “Preventing Transmission Precisely, Micro PPKM Tightened” that was held by the Merdeka Barat 9 Forum and monitored here on Wednesday, Rondonuwu noted that the situation was reported on the basis of a research report on Whole Genome Sequencing in Kudus, Central Java, which was dominated by the Delta variant case finding.
“Despite the discovery of the Delta variant in DKI (Jakarta), almost everything we found in Kudus was a type of Delta variant. In general, these variants were found in areas that reported a spike in COVID-19 cases. We proved this finding through genomic sequencing samples that can confirm the new variant,” he remarked.
Based on its clinical symptoms, the Delta variant has the tendency of causing symptoms akin to other variants of the coronavirus disease, including cough, runny nose, and fever.
“In general, transmission of this virus variant is the same, through droplets and air. Hence, people who are in close contact with COVID-19 sufferers can become infected with this disease. However, transmission of this Delta variant tends to be very fast,” he remarked.
Apart from a tendency to attack patients under the age of 18, Rondonuwu noted that this variant can basically attack people of various age groups.
“This is similar to when the first dengue case appeared. At that time, the initial variant of the dengue virus only attacked children. However, after several years, the disease developed (in Indonesia), the initial variant of the virus also attacked adults,” he pointed out.
Rondonuwu noted that each variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus had its own specifications. However, he stated that the Delta variant had not been found to be highly virulent despite its swift transmission.
“However, if patients, with this variant of the virus, have limited access to service facilities, the risk of death looms large,” he cautioned.
Source: Antara News