Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : June 22, 2022 11:37 AM IST
Man Infected With Both BA.4 and BA.5 Found In India
First detected in South Africa, the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is the current threat that is looming on us. There are several questions lingering in the minds of the people. One of the most common among them is - can one catch more than one variant of the COVID-19 virus at a time? In a recent report, a COVID testing center in Kolkata has said that a man, who had tested positive for COVID-19, was found carrying both BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of the virus.
According to the reports, a sample of a coronavirus-positive patient was found to be carrying a mixed species of Omicron! The sample of the patient was found to have both the subvariants of omicron - BA.4 and BA.5. "Mixed species have been captured in the genome sequencing of NIBMG in Kalyani," doctors told Zee News. COVID-19 cases in West Bengal is on the rise for a few weeks now. Experts have termed this sudden surge in the daily cases as 'concerning'.
An individual can catch more than one variant of the COVID-19 virus at the same time. West Bengal is not the first state which has reported such a case in which a person was found to be infected with two variants. Earlier, many cases of Deltacron, Delmicron (Delta + Omicron) variants were detected in several parts of the country. This happens due to the fact that the vaccine protection against the virus wanes with time, and the person becomes more susceptible to catch the virus. At this time, if the person shows leniency towards following the safety protocols, he/she becomes more at risk of getting infected.
When we talk about a particular COVID variant, we should know that each variant of the virus has some unique characters, and thus when it infects an individual, it shows up new symptoms of COVID-19. Here are some of the symptoms of BA.4 and BA.5 mixed infection:
According to the doctors, the patient had two most dominating symptoms of the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron sub-variants, these are - fever and difficulty in breathing. Other symptoms may include -
Doctors from Kolkata have cautioned people towards showing leniency in getting their booster doses. "Those who are eligible to take the vaccine must take all doses, at a certain interval of time. Masks, sanitizers should be used," one of the doctors told Zee News.
