When scientists continue to investigate the possibility of the cause for increasing cases of Coronavirus recently in this country, BA.2.75, one of several sub-variants of the Omicron parent variant, is under the spotlight.
BA.2.75, owned by BA.2 Sub-Lineage which is a dominant strain in India earlier this year, has been found to have an advantage of 18 percent growth compared to the sub-variant of Omicron which is circulating.
Dr. Rajesh Karyakarte, a microbiologist at Pune’s B J Medical College and the Head of the Maharashtra genome sequence, said the current surge in the country in the country was a little curious because all the strains circulating were still sub-linega from Omicron, and there was no new variant, different from Omicron , has been detected.
“We already have a large enough wave driven by the Omicron variant earlier this year. So, the surge at this time is a little unexpected, “he said.
The Karyasarte team, and scientists elsewhere, have taken three sub-variants, BA.2.74, BA.2.75, and BA.2.76, as a possible driver for the current surge. These three sub-variants have more than nine changes in surge protein. All three are expected to exceed the number of sub-variants of BA.4 and BA.5 The most common until a few weeks ago.
Mike Honey, a data integration specialist from Melbourne, said in a Twitter post that the sub-lineage of BA.2.75 (nicknamed Centaurus) was the “evolutionary leap” of BA.2, the most common Omicron sub-variant in the country until now until now.
Scientists in India say it (BA.2.75) is now one of the most common sub-variants detected in the country in the recent sequence of genomes.
“BA.2.75 has a different growth advantage compared to BA.4 or BA.5,” said Dr. Karyasarte The Indian Express
However, there is no evidence as it is now to suggest that BA.2.75 also causes a more severe form of infection. Karyasarte said clinical studies were being prepared to assess the impact of this infection on the body.
Tom Peacock, Virologist at Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College, In a Tweet, Said that Scientists Need to Keep a Close Eye On Ba.2.75 because it has a large number of spike mutations, two them products selected from a variety of locations geographically.
It is possible that the mutation in the sub-variant of BA.2.75 provides an upgraded ability to avoid antibodies and inherent in human cells. This can result in an increase in infectivity even among those who have previously been infected, or have been fully vaccinated.
“What a mutation of the Sars-Cov-2 virus is successful both in a mild or dangerous one being carefully monitored,” said Dr. Karyasarte.
“We have also asked a private laboratory to send samples for sequence of genomes and conduct clinical studies to understand the symptoms of people who die, hospitalized or then get oxygen support,” he said.
Vinod Scarisa, a medical researcher in clinical precision and genomic medicine, said the emergence of BA.2.75 is not a reason to panic as it is now.
“The purpose to remember is that the variant continues to develop and collect more mutations and too early to jump to any conclusions,” he said in a tweet.