New Delhi: Rapidly spreading “stealth omicron” variant in the coronavirus-hit northeastern province of the East Asian country of China has undergone lockdown and heavy military reservists have been deployed as it is fuelling the country’s biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic two years ago.
What is ‘Stealth Omicron’ variant?
Most of the recent outbreak is being driven by the variant known as ‘stealth omicron’ or the B.A.2 lineage of the Omicron variant, as per reports. The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) informed that it is investigating a sub-lineage of the omicron coronavirus variant, known to be BA.2 or named by some scientists as “stealth variant.”
Reportedly, the concerned variant spreads faster than the original version, which itself spreads faster than the original virus and another variant. The Omicron variant was known to initiate the third wave of the pandemic across the world.
Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) does not consider BA.2 to be a “variant of concern,” it is continuing to monitor its spread. BA.2 is starting to replace the original Omicron strain in many countries.
According to reports, it is currently the dominant variant in Denmark, which registered more than 50,000 new infections in one day last week. Besides, BA.2 appears to be a major Omicron lineage in parts of India and the Philippines. Moreover, in the United States, more than 250 cases concerning this variant have been detected in more than half the states.
Cornelius Römer, a bioinformatician at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel in Switzerland, stated that BA.2 was initiated from a common ancestor almost the same time as that of the original Omicron, known as BA.1. Sometimes, BA.2 is touted as a stealth variant as it is missing key mutations in its spike protein that are essential for rapid PCR tests to distinguish it from previous variants, such as Delta.
“BA.2 shares over 30 mutations with BA.1, but it also has 28 unique mutations,” says Shay Fleishon, an evolutionary geneticist and advisor to the Central Virology Laboratory in Israel.
Stealth cases in China
According to the National Health Commission 1,337 locally transmitted cases in the latest 24-hour period, including 895 in the industrial province of Jilin have been recorded. A government notice said that police permission would be needed for people to leave the area or travel from one city to another.
Hundreds of cases were reported in other provinces and cities along China’s east coast and inland as well. Beijing had six new cases while Shanghai had 41. Residential areas and office buildings were locked down.
Risk Factor
It is a matter of concern for the world with the rapid spread of BA.2 in China. Most countries witnessed the third wave and this variant may initiate the fourth wave. ‘Stealth Variant’ has become a new challenge for health experts across the world.
