It is suspected to be “as or more contagious” than the Omicron strain, but its effects are not known. There are still no records of his presence in Argentina

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Tuesday of this week that the BA.2 version of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 be investigated, which is spreading rapidly and whose impact it may have on the population is unknown. evolution of the coronavirus pandemic .

Although the evidence gathered around Ómicron is mainly based on the BA.1 sublineage, in recent days the prominent presence of the BA.2 sublineage was observed, “which differs from the first in some mutations, including the spike protein” , as recognized by the WHO.

Eduardo López, infectologist and adviser to President Alberto Fernández, said in a dialogue with Télam that the “new variant is a sublineage of the Ómicron that appeared in India” and that “cases were detected in England, Denmark, France, Sweden and the Philippines” .

“Apparently it is the same or more contagious than Omicron, but it does not seem to be more serious,” he said, adding that “for now the WHO (World Health Organization) is studying it.”

Regarding whether it is a variant of concern or of interest, the specialist indicated that “it has not yet been defined”, and clarified that “the variants of concern are always the ones with the greatest transmissibility” .

“For now it would appear that this new variant evades the immune system in the same way that Omicron does,” he added.

Some authors “speculate that this sublineage of the Ómicron variant could in Europe replace the primitive BA.1 lineage of Ómicron”.

“An important piece of information is that it would be more difficult for this sublineage to be detected in antigen tests, but not in PCR,” warned López, adding that “if this variant spreads, rapid antigen methods would not have the same utility than PCR, which would take longer to detect.

López maintained that “most authors consider that the symptoms that are occurring now are asymptomatic and mild, but in Denmark it already represents 50% of isolates.”

“To date there is no data that cases of BA.2 have been observed in Argentina, nor in Latin America,” he added.

In addition to its presence in Europe, BA.2 was also registered in the United States, the last cases of which were detected in the state of Washington.

For his part, the infectologist and presidential adviser Luis Cámera told this agency that “BA.2 is a subvariant of Omicron”, and explained that BA.1 is the most common in some parts of Europe.

Up to 10% or so circulates in Europe, but the epicenter is Denmark,” he said.

He added that “it is possible that since it has many more mutations, some may evade the vaccine a little more, and above all they may be more infectious because they have a greater affinity for cell receptors.”

Cámera maintained that since BA.2 “is increasing its number, displacing BA.1”, it is “suspected that it is more transmissible, but in other parts of Europe this is not happening, so I would look at it with a magnifying glass and very tranquility” .

“The variant is a phenomenon of all viruses and this has to do with its own composition,” he explained, specifying that mutations mean that “somehow the virus survives because mutations are generated that adapt to the system and maintain the possibility of being able to continue replicating”.

Meanwhile, the infectologist and Conicet researcher Jorge Geffner told Télam that the BA.2 variant derives from “Ómicron and is just being studied.”

“It is present in 40 countries and we do not know if it is in Argentina, when you do PCR you only know if the person is infected or not, we do not analyze the genomic sequencing,” he assured.

“Until now, the BA.2 variant has not been found in our country,” he added.

“What is striking is that, in countries like Denmark, apparently 40% of what is circulating today is BA.2. At least there it managed to displace Ómicron BA.1 , but that does not seem to be associated with cases of greater gravity,” he explained.

He also indicated that “it is not yet known if it is more transmissible than the traditional variable or if it has a greater capacity to evade immunity, but it is speculated that it may be more transmissible than Ómicron,” he concluded.