[ad_1]
Shortly after the Omicron variant was discovered late last year in South Africa, some researchers identified a new species, which is now attracting more attention, as it could affect the expansion of the infection map in many countries over time. times.
The new BA.2 variant has about 40 mutations and some forecasts indicate it could be one of the most dominant variants in many countries in the coming months. The increase in cases due to the new type has started to be noticeable, but not very disturbing based on the data so far.
Last week, health authorities in the UK published a report confirming a high rate of infections.
This type of variant appears to be more contagious but unable to cause severe symptoms, especially in people who have recently been fully vaccinated or have received a booster dose of the vaccine.
The discovery of BA.2, however, is not as simple as with the initial version of Omicron, because unlike the latter, the verification of molecular string results is not sufficient, but it is necessary to proceed with a real sequence, i.e. , analysis of genetic material.
Denmark is one of the countries in the world that performs the most genetic material analysis and this explains why BA.2 accounts for approximately 78% of the cases detected in the country. It is very likely that this new species will be widespread in many other European countries.
The study conducted in Denmark has attracted the attention of experts and research groups.
The authors analyzed infections at home, noting that in the presence of a positive with BA.1, on average 29% of cohabiting people become infected, while in the case of a positive with BA.2, the percentage increases to 39%.
The Danish study shows that BA.2, may have an ability to escape the immunity created by vaccination.
Vaccinated people with a booster dose were found to be three times more susceptible to BA.2 infection than BA.1 infection.
However, infected persons who have taken the booster dose are less transmissible than those who have been infected with BA.1. Unvaccinated persons, on the other hand, may be more contagious if they are infected with the new BA variant.2.
It is also still unclear whether persons who have previously been infected with BA.1 may be protected from BA infection.2.
This depends especially on the significant differences of BA.2. Many scholars think that this variant should not even be considered as Omicron and should have a definition of its own.
The differences may be due to a parallel evolution, which occurred shortly after the emergence of Omicron, where BA.2 took longer to spread beyond South Africa.
Its great resemblance to the Omicron variant may help slow down the latest wave of coronavirus in Europe and the United States, but it may also increase the number of cases of infection in some other parts of the world, which have not been greatly affected. of the Omicron variant.
The prevalence of BA.2 may explain why new positive cases are slowly declining in some parts of the world, but to do so, so far, more data will be needed to be safe.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link