In the UK, a subspecies of the omicron strain of coronavirus, BA.2, has been identified. It is spreading faster than the previous mutation, according to the website of the kingdom’s health security agency.
“BA.2 has an increased growth rate compared to BA.1 in all regions of England where there are enough cases to evaluate it,” the agency’s report says.
It is noted that as of January 24, 1072 genomically confirmed cases of infection with the omicron subspecies were detected in England. In particular, data on hospitalizations in intensive care units and recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in nursing homes were examined.
The scientists also studied British contacts between December 27 and January 11 and found that people with the BA.2 mutation infected family members in 13.4% of cases, which is 3.1% more than with the main omicron variant.
This subspecies is more likely to reinfect humans, said Susan Hopkins, the agency’s chief medical adviser. At the same time, there is no information about the severity of the course of the disease in BA.2.
The new mutation was also found in Denmark, Norway and India.