The first Omicron variant BA.1 is significantly more contagious than earlier coronavirus variants. Now a subtype, BA.2, has emerged.
The BA.2 subtype of the Omicron coronavirus variant appears to have a substantial growth advantage over the currently predominant BA.1 type, Britain's UK Health Security Agency said on Friday.
At least 400 people have been infected with BA.2 during the first 10 days of January in the UK. And it has already been detected in more than 40 other countries worldwide.
The PANGO directory of coronaviruses, which is regularly updated by scientists from the universities of Oxford, Edinburgh and Cambridge, lists Denmark as the most affected area, with 79% of the cases detected so far.
It is followed by Great Britain (6%), India (5%), Sweden (2%) and Singapore (2%). However, it should be noted that detection of the subtype depends on the ability of individual health systems to sequence PCR tests.
U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid added that the emergence of the new variant shows the continued importance of vaccination. Meanwhile, infections with subtype BA.2 have so far not been more severe than with subtype BA.1.
The rapid spread of the new subtype suggests it could be even more contagious than the original omicron variant. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has classified BA.2 as a "variant under surveillance."
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