‘Stealth Omicron’ coronavirus subvariant confirmed in Serbia, RTS reports

NEWS 08.02.202213:25 0 komentara
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The first stealth subvariant of omicron coronavirus strain was recorded in Serbia, the state RTS TV reported late on Monday, as confirmed by the Belgrade Medicine Faculty.

Virologist Tanja Jovanovic said the new subvariant was slowly becoming dominant in some countries, but the clinical status was assumed to be similar to the first one.

A vaccine also protects against moderate to severe forms of the disease, Jovanovic adds.

PCR test at the Clinical Center of Serbia that detects the potential presence of omicron variant and subvariant virus shows suspicion of a new subvariant BA.2.

The Faculty confirmed the presence of stealth omicron subvariants in two samples of patients from the southwestern town of Novi Pazar
with the sequencing technique.

Jovanovic said it was noticed that the subvariant, first discovered in the Philippines at the end of January, was spreading even faster than the previous one and was slowly becoming dominant in Denmark, India, Great Britain and Germany.

Its presence has been proven in more than 50 countries, with the symptoms thought to be similar.

It was still unknown if the symptoms were different than in omicron, BA.1, whether it had a heavier or lighter clinical picture, whether it was easier to avoid with a vaccine or natural immunity. However, Jovanovic said, it was believed to be similar to the previous subvariant.

She added the subvariants did not differ much, only in about twenty mutations; otherwise, they were very similar to the fixed mutations they had.

„There are much bigger differences between different variants than between different subvariants within one strain,“ Jovanovic said, adding vaccines protected against moderate to severe forms of the disease.

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