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According to the World Health Organization, the omicron coronavirus sub-variant known as BA.2 has been discovered across Africa, and governments should sequence more coronavirus samples to evaluate the extent of its dissemination.
According to Nicksy Gumede-Moeletsi, a virologist of the WHO, the strain has been detected in Senegal in West Africa, Kenya in East Africa, Malawi, Botswana, and South Africa in Southern Africa.
“We’re afraid that some of this BA.2 was overlooked in some of the samples we previously analysed,” she said.
Scientists are concerned about BA.2, because investigations show it is more transmissible than the original omicron strain, which was discovered in November by South Africa and Botswana.
According to research, a mild infection with either strain may not elicit a strong enough immune response to protect against further omicron infection. According to preliminary evidence from BA.2 infections in Denmark and the United Kingdom, the strain does not produce more severe disease.
Tulio de Oliveira, a bio-informatics professor who leads gene-sequencing facilities and advises the government on the pandemic, said in a presentation on Wednesday that BA.2 is spreading swiftly in South Africa and has been discovered in seven of the country’s nine provinces. In the current wave, it has the potential to create a second wave of infections, he said.
