Pune3 hours ago
Corona’s new variant Omicron has now spread all over the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed Omicron (B.1.1.529) as a variant of concern. Now three new sub-variants of this variant have also appeared. That is, it has made its three new forms. Indian scientists have named one of these sub variants as BA.1.
Indian virologists who have done its genome sequencing claim that BA.1 is spreading faster than Omicron and in Maharashtra and some other states it is rapidly infecting people by replacing the delta variant. Is.
However, scientists have not yet been able to decide whether this new sub-variant is dangerous despite the rapid spread of infection.
New cases have increased rapidly due to Omicron.
Out of the three new sub-variants, the BA.1 has the highest quality of Omicron
Virologists say that the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant is further divided into three sub-variants BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3. Several cases of Omicron’s new subvariant BA.2 have been found in South Africa, Australia and Canada, while BA.1 appears to be spreading rapidly in India.
According to virologists from the Department of Biotechnology (INSACOG), BA.1 spreads very rapidly due to its rapid growth tendency and is the original lineage of Omicron. That is, it has the most properties of Omicron. This is a major contributor to the increase in new cases being seen in the current third wave. BA.1 itself has caused very mild symptoms in most patients. Because of this very few patients are being admitted to the hospital.
BA.1 replacing the amino acid position in the virus spike protein
According to virologists, the spike proteins of BA.1 and BA.3 viruses have amino acid positions 69-70 deleted. During the investigation of clinical sequencing, the presence of BA.1 has been found in many places instead of the normal omicron. Since all these variants belong to the same family, these samples are considered Omicron positive.
INSACOG is doing sequencing in many states including Maharashtra and Kerala
The department’s Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) ie Department of Biotechnology looks after genome sequencing for some states including Maharashtra and Kerala. There are more than 50 mutations in Omicron. Its first case was found on 8 November in South Africa. Since then it has spread all over the world including India. Experts say that the division in Omicron’s lineage is of more interest to scientists, as it will help to better understand epidemiology. Common man need not be worried about this.
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