“BA.2”: New Omigron Mutant – Returns RKI details

The highly contagious Omigran variant is currently increasing the number of people affected by corona. Now a subtype raises new concerns.

Updated Tuesday, January 25, 2022, from 2:48 pm: Furthermore, a subtype of the Omigron mutant “BA.2” is prevalent in Europe. Scandinavia in particular, but Great Britain has also been affected. But how is the situation in Germany? Is the “BA.2” variant mixed with the common “BA.1” variant from the already dominant Omikron?

When asked by our authors, RKI stands for Current Data Status for “BA.2”. In January 20 Weekly Report It states: “All infections with omigrans detected so far in Germany” are assigned to subline BA.1. According to the Robert Koch Institute, “there is currently no strong increase in the ratio of BA.2 in all Omigron detections, as has happened in other countries”. The next few weeks will see growth.

“The prevalence of omigran in all federal states is increasing or is already a variant of the practice.”

So far, data on “BA.2” is relatively limited. Research is being pushed forward at full speed. “We were amazed at the speed with which this subtype, which is widespread in Asia, spread to Denmark,” explains Antoine Flaholt, director of the World Health Organization at the University of Geneva.

Corona: The new Omigron variant is spreading

The spread is occurring at a rapid pace, but there is no reason to panic in corona politics, emphasizes Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London:

Omigron variant “BA.2” spreads to Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden

The newly discovered variant of Omicron continues to make headlines. “BA.2” is now urgently being explored. So far, nothing is known about the “stealth clock variant”, as it is called (see update from January 22, 2022). Apart from Denmark, this variant is also in circulation in Great Britain. Health officials there have now responded – and have classified the mutant as a “variation in surveillance”.

The background to this is the suspicion that “BA.2” may be more contagious, i.e. more contagious, than the true Omigran variant “BA.1”. The British daily Mirror reports that “invisible variation” did not lead to more deadly Govt 19 studies than “BA.1”.

To date, 426 cases of “BA.2” infection have been reported in Great Britain. In addition to the UK and Denmark, cases have been reported in India, Singapore and Sweden.

Corona: The “stealth clock variant” discovered by Omigron – PCR blind flying tests

In Denmark, a variant of the Omigron mutant already dominates the infection process (see first report). This corona variant is likely to prevail in Germany soon. So far, not much is known about “BA.2”. In an interview with RTL, Dr. Christoph Specter explained how to distinguish a variant from the usual Omigron variant: “BA.2 has 17 mutations that differ from the previous Omigron variant. It is much higher.” It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. “It’s better to avoid the immune system than the PA1 ‘variant. A vaccine or previous variant of one variant is less likely to prevent you from becoming infected,” Spect explained.

Omicron’s new variant is also known as the “theft variant”. The background of the post is that the mutant can rarely be detected by PCR tests. According to Spect, PCR tests could not distinguish the delta from the “BA.2” omicron variant.

Omigron subtype “BA.2” is on the rise: mutant already dominates Denmark

First Report Friday, January 21, 2022 4:51 pm: PARIS / Copenhagen – The rapid spread of the highly contagious Omigron variant is making things harder for many countries around the world. Germany is currently particularly affected, where for the first time on Friday (January 21, 2022) the value of events exceeded 700.

Meanwhile, a new Omigron subtype has caught the attention of scientists. According to French Health Minister Olivier Véran, the characteristics of a subtype of the corona virus called “BA.2” have not yet been adequately studied. “BA.2” does not currently change the status of the infection, Véran added. Like the delta variant, the Omigran variant formed “little brothers” during its transcription: subtypes that differed from the original gene in one or two mutations. This variation has already been found in many countries, mainly in Europe.

Omigron subtype BA.2: Danish stats make you sit up and take notice

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet distinguished between Omikron and its variant “BA.2”. However, the latest data from Denmark makes us sit back and watch. In a country where the number of daily infections has been rising again for a few days, “PA2” is said to be the primary. Corona– There will be variation.

At the end of 2021 in Denmark the infection rate of the “BA.2” variant was almost 20 percent. But now “BA.2” is already responsible for almost half of all corona infections. And this growth is likely to continue in the future.

It is also worth noting that “BA.2” differs greatly from the previous key subtype “BA.1”. Geneticist Ulrich Elling describes on Twitter, A total of 17 mutations can be found in the “BA.2” variant. “BA.1” and “BA.2” are completely identical in one half of the gene, but very different in the other half.

The Omigron subvariant was exaggerated in the “BA.2” boost

According to Ulrich Elling, data from Denmark indicate that the variant “BA.2” may be over-represented, especially among the uplifted. This explains why the number of infections continues to rise in Denmark despite high vaccination and booster rates.

However, it is not yet known how well infection with BA.1 protects against “BA.2” infection. “We have an international situation in which the omigran variant is highly contagious, and it is natural to detect sub variants over time,” the French Health Commission said. Whether “BA.2” has different characteristics based on infection, immune response, or severity of disease progression is a critical factor. (dpa / AFP with tu / cs)

Rubrix List: © Omigron variant now dominates the corona infection process in Germany. (Archive photo)