Arushi Bidhuri
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Written By: Arushi Bidhuri | Updated : May 6, 2022 11:18 AM IST
Currently dominant in countries within South Africa and Europe, the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 of Omicron are believed to be highly contagious. Regarding the upsurge in COVID cases in South Africa, the chief of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has recently cautioned, "In many countries, we're essentially blind to how the virus is mutating. We don't know what's coming next."
The highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, which was originally discovered in southern Africa in November of last year and quickly spread over the world, is currently the prevalent strain, accounting for nearly all new cases. The sub-lineages have gained a few more mutations that may alter their features, according to the newest WHO assessment.
"Second, [#COVID19] testing and sequencing remain absolutely critical.
The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants were identified because South Africa is still doing the vital genetic sequencing that many other countries have stopped doing."-@DrTedroshttps://t.co/iRzZpT9uPP World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 4, 2022
"It's too soon to know whether these new sub-variants can cause more severe disease than other Omicron sub-variants," Tedros said on Wednesday. He continued that preliminary evidence suggests that vaccination continues to protect against serious disease and death.
So, BA.4 and BA.5 have been discovered in numerous countries, and we are currently investigating their severity and transmissibility, according to WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove. We're specifically interested in seeing if the rate of hospitalisation has increased. It's too soon to tell. However, in South Africa, we are beginning to notice a slight increase in hospitalisation, which is due to an increase in cases. Experts are now attempting to ascertain whether the problem is caused by BA.4 or BA.5.
Heard about #Omicron sub-lineages ? Here's what we know so far. Also, please remember to take #COVID19 vaccine 💉 when it's your turn. pic.twitter.com/WW4A5zAps9
WHO South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) May 4, 2022
Regarding the immunological escape of the two variations, she stated that immune escape occurs in all Omicron sublineages. BA.4 and BA.5 are being studied to see if they have immune escape capabilities as well. The WHO official noted that research is being conducted to establish the severity and transmissibility of another subvariant, BA.2.12.1.
