The AY.4.2 sub-variant of Covid-19, also known as Delta Plus, that posed problems in Britain and Europe has not been detected in Thailand yet, the head of the Department of Medical Sciences said on Tuesday.
Dr Supakit Sirilak, the director-general, said the sub-variant was spreading in Britain and many countries of Europe.
"We are afraid of the sub-variant because its transmission is 10-15% faster than conventional Delta... But the AY.4.2 has not been found in Thailand so far," he said at the Public Health Ministry in Nonthaburi province.
However, there was no evidence that AY.4.2 could avoid antibodies.
Dr Supakit said the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (Afrims) reported that its centre in Kamphaeng Phet province confirmed in September that a man from Ayutthaya was infected with the AY.1 sub-variant of Delta.
That sub-variant had not proven to be more severe than conventional Delta sub-variants, Dr Supakit said. The patient fully recovered and was discharged from a field hospital in Kamphaeng Phet, he said.
Dr Supakit said 18 sub-variants of the Delta variant had been detected in Thailand, and the AY.30 sub-variant was found in more than 1,000 cases.
