Omicron Sub-Variant BA 2.75 Found in India

The World Health Organization is monitoring the discovery of the novel sub-lineage BA.2.75 of the Omicron form of the coronavirus in nations like India, according to Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“On COVID-19, worldwide reported cases have grown by over 30% in the last two weeks. According to Mr. Ghebreyesus, four of the six WHO sub-regions observed increased cases during the last week.

“BA.4 and BA.5 are creating waves in Europe and the United States. We’re monitoring a new sub-lineage of BA.2.75 that has been found in places like India, he said.

According to a video uploaded on Twitter by WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan, there has been an appearance of the possible Omicron sub-variant known as the BA.2.75 that was “initially detected from India and subsequently from approximately 10 additional nations.”

She added that just a few sequences of the sub-variant are left to analyze, but it seems to contain a few mutations in the spike protein’s receptor-binding domain.

The virus’s ability to connect to the human receptor relies on this crucial component. So, we must keep an eye on it.

It is still too early to determine whether this sub-variant exhibits additional immune evasion characteristics or is more clinically severe. We are unaware of that.

She said we must wait and watch, noting that WHO is monitoring it and that the WHO Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) is regularly reviewing the data from all across the globe.

The committee will take action at any moment if a virus emerges that is sufficiently distinct from a prior one to be labelled a different variety of concerns. Globally, the number of new weekly cases climbed for the fourth consecutive week, following a falling trend since the previous high in March 2022, according to the WHO’s weekly epidemiological report on COVID-19, issued on July 6.

Over 4.6 million instances, or a comparable number to the previous week, were recorded from June 27 to July 3. Over 8100 fatalities were recorded, a 12 percent decrease in the number of new deaths over the previous week.

Globally, more than 6.3 million fatalities and over 546 million confirmed COVID19 cases had been documented as of July 3, 2022.

According to the COVID report, the proportions of BA.5 and BA.4 among Omicron lineages are still rising. 83 nations have reported BA.5 detections. Although BA.4, which has been found in 73 countries, is likewise becoming more prevalent worldwide, its pace of growth is not as rapid as that of BA.5.

Over 157,000 new cases have been recorded, a 20% increase from the previous week, in the South-East Asia Region, where cases have risen since early June. The number of new cases increased in five out of ten countries (50%), for which statistics were available, with Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal showing the most significant proportionate increases.

India (112,456 new cases, a rise of 21%), Thailand (15,950, an increase of 6%), and Bangladesh reported the largest numbers of new cases (13,516 new cases, a 53 percent increase).

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Over 350 new fatalities were recorded, representing a 16% rise in the number of new deaths reported each week in the area compared to the preceding week. India (200 new deaths, a 39% rise), Thailand (108 new deaths, a 14% reduction), and Indonesia reported the largest numbers of new fatalities (32 new deaths, an increase of 7 percent).

COVID-19 Incident Manager for WHO According to Abdi Mahamud, it is not appropriate to announce that the epidemic is finished.

“The epidemic is still ongoing, and the virus still has a great deal of power. So the virus will persist whether it is the BA.4, BA.5, or BA.2.75. He said, “It does what it does well. People and communities must continue to wear masks, stay away from crowds, and make sure that the most at-risk and vulnerable population is protected.

The COVID-19 task, according to Mr. Ghebreyesus, is made more difficult by various circumstances, including the sharp decline in testing across several nations.

“This hides the genuine image of a changing virus and the total cost of COVID-19 sickness worldwide. Additionally, it implies that medical care is not provided promptly enough to avert significant disease and death.

Second, he noted that promising new medicines are still not making it to low- and low-middle income nations, denying whole populations that need them. Additionally, vaccine protection can decrease as the virus changes while still quite effective in preventing major illness and death.

With each wave of the virus, more individuals develop the long-COVID or post-COVID syndrome; the WHO head said that declining immunity highlights the necessity of boosters, particularly for those at risk.

“This certainly affects the affected people and their families, but it also adds to the load on the health care system, the whole economy, and society. He added that action must be taken to address these issues on a global, national, and local scale.