New COVID-19 Omicron Sub-variant 'BA.2.75' Detected In India

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a new sub-variant of the Omicron strain of the COVID-19 virus has been found in India and some other countries. According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, globally there was an increase of nearly 30 percent in reported new COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks.

COVID-19 New Variant Omicron

In Europe and America, BA.4 and BA.5 are driving waves. In countries like India, a new sub-lineage of BA.2.75 has also been detected, and WHO is following it.

On the emergence of the potential Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in a video posted on Twitter that there has been an emergence of a sub-variant that is being called the BA.2.75 “first reported from India and then from about 10 other countries”.

What Do We Know About The BA.2.75 Variant?

There are still limited sequences available of the sub-variant to analyze, but this sub-variant seems to have a few mutations in the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein.

So obviously, that’s a key part of the virus that attaches itself to the human receptor. So, we have to watch that. It’s still too early to know if this sub-variant has properties of additional immune evasion or indeed of being more clinically severe.

WHO is tracking it and the WHO Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) is constantly looking at the data from around the world.

And at any time if there is an emergence of a virus that looks very different from a previous one, enough to be called a separate variant of concern, then the committee will do that.

COVID-19 Pandemic Is Not Over Yet

The discovery of the new sub-variant in India comes at a time when some epidemiologists had said that COVID-19 is not a pandemic, but has entered an endemic phase in India. The current spike in new cases across India is normal during the transition phase.

But WHO warns that is not the time to declare that the pandemic is over. We are still amid the pandemic and the virus has a lot of force left.

So, whether it is the BA.4 or BA.5 or BA.2.75, the virus will continue. People and communities must continue to wear masks, avoid crowds and ensure that the most vulnerable and high-risk population is protected.



Source-Medindia