FOUR samples of Covid-19 cases in Parliament discovered on July 29, are most likely to be of the Delta variant, said director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

In a post on Facebook yesterday night, Noor Hisham said the samples that were received by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) yesterday from the Sungai Buloh National Public Health Laboratory showed positivity with a low cycle threshold value.

“We have carried out a PCR genotyping assay that can provide presumptive results for variants of concerns or interest while the whole genome sequencing (WGS) takes about 8-14 days to complete.

“”In the interest of public health concerns, while awaiting results from WGS, IMR carried out a genotyping assay (Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Variants II Assay) which utilises real time PCR platform and can provide  presumptive results for variants of concern/interest within four hours,” he said.

From the genotyping assay, Noor Hisham said IMR had detected two important mutations in all four cases, indicating a presumptive positive for the Delta or Kappa variant.

“Based on current circulation of variants in Malaysia, it’s most likely to be Delta variant,” he said.

Noor Hisham said the World Health Organization recognised that cases of infection with the Delta variant had a virus load that are 1,200 times higher compared with cases of infection by non-variants of concern.

He said WGS would be conducted for further confirmation. – Bernama, August 2, 2021.