Highly Transmissible Omicron Variant Detected In Bihar, Can Cause 10 Times More Harm Than BA.2

The health department of Bihar has found a new COVID variant, which is believed to be 10 times more harmful than the previous strain of Omicron.

In a shocking news, the health department of Bihar has discovered a new Omicron strain at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS). As per the researchers, the new BA.12 variant is ten times more harmful than BA.2, which was discovered during the third wave of COVID in India.

Prof Dr Namrata Kumari, the HOD of the microbiology department of IGIMS said that the department started genome sequencing of samples of the variant. "There were 13 samples tested and one of them had BA.12 strains. The remaining 12 samples have BA.2 strains," she told IANS.

Omicron BA.12 10 Times More Harmful

According to science, viruses mutate to survive. The coronavirus has mutated a lot of times ever since it was first discovered. But the biggest threats have been two variants of SARS-CoV-2, namely delta and omicron. They differed significantly from earlier variations and from one another.

The difference between the original Omicron variants is extremely small, as per research. While the BA.2 was found to be more contagious than the previous mutations, it was not considered as dangerous as the Delta variant. However, Prof Dr Kumari has noted that the new BA.12, found in Bihar, is 10 times more dangerous than the BA.2 variants.

Do You Need To Worry About BA.12 Variant?

So far, scientists have asked people not to worry as long as they practice precautions. Every time a new strain surfaces, we do see a little bump in COVID cases but it mostly affects the vulnerable groups those suffering from an underlying disease.

No matter the virus, it's best to wear a mask if you have symptoms. Wearing masks has become increasingly commonplace, rather than a strange thing to do in the past. When you're sick, put on a mask so you don't infect others, especially the most vulnerable the young, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.

Precaution Is The Best Prevention

Follow other COVID-appropriate behaviours to make sure the infection doesn't spread. Some things you should keep in mind:

• Greet without physical contact
• Maintain physical distance

  Wear masks at all times

Add The HealthSite as a Preferred Source
• Wash your hand frequently
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if you are sick
• Clean and disinfect touched surfaces regularly
• Do not spit in the open
• Avoid unnecessary travel
• Do not circulate unnecessary social media posts related to COVID
• Seek information about COVID from credible sources