By AFP
A sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain has been detected in 57 countries, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
The fast-spreading and heavily mutated Omicron variant is now the dominant variant worldwide since it was first detected in southern Africa 10 weeks ago.
In its weekly epidemiological update, the WHO said that the variant, which accounts for over 93 percent of all coronavirus specimens collected in the past month, counts several sub-lineages: BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 and BA.3.
The BA.1 and BA.1.1 — the first versions identified — still account for over 96 percent of all the Omicron sequences uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, it said.
But there has been a clear rise in cases involving BA.2, which counts several different mutations from the original — including on the spike protein that dots the virus’s surface and is key to entering human cells.
“BA.2- designated sequences have been submitted to GISAID from 57 countries to date,” WHO said, adding that in some countries, the sub-variant now accounted for over half of all Omicron sequences gathered.
