NEW YORK: Even as the whole world is involved in the fight against Covid, new variants are posing a challenge to the health experts. At present, the Gamma and Delta varieties are the most common in the world. Recently, the World Health Organization confirmed that yet another COVID-19 virus strain, named Lambda, was identified in 29 countries in the world.

The WHO has named the Lambda variant in its 'variant of interest list'. It is learnt that the Lambda variant was first identified in Peru in August last year. This variant is mostly found in Latin American countries, including Argentina and Chile. The WHO stated that the Lambda variant is so common in Peru that 81 percent of cases reported in the country since April 2021 were associated with it.