Covid-19: Two new sub-variants of Omicron have been detected in the country

In recent weeks, two cases have been detected in the country with sub-variants omicron BA.4 s Bachelor 5And the According to the latest official report of genetic surveillance of Covid-19 virus.

The dominant variant in the samples being sequenced remains the variant Bachelor 2as indicated in the joint report of COUNTRY . PROJECT and the Malbran Institute who posted The nation’s health ministry The first days of this month.

“In addition, a BA.4 omicron case with a history under investigation and a BA.5 omicron case were detected in a person with a history of international travel,” they limited to identification.

Data presented up to the beginning of this month indicates that ómicron has been installed so far this year in 100% of the samples analyzed.

Variant BA.2 “rised to more than 60%” last month, with the highest percentage (70.3%) detected in the fourth week of last month. “For the rest of the virus variants, including delta, no cases have been recorded” since the third week of this year.

Omicron remains the dominant variant of concern (VOC) in global circulation of SARS-CoV-2 It is still present in nearly all viral genome sequences that have been registered on the GISAID open data platform.

Since mid-May, BA.2 variant detection in the region has been decreasing, with an increase in the presence of Bachelor 2.12.1 (for him Circulation increased in the United States and Mexico), BA.4 and BA.5. But already in the last week of that month, BA.4 accounted for 14% of the circulated subvariables and BA.5, 7.3%, as reported Pan American Health Organization (Pan American Health Organization) in a Covid-19 case status update a week ago.

“Informative evidence obtained from several countries indicates that, at present, no greater disease severity associated with the BA.5 and BA.4 substrings has been observed, with respect to other circulating strains,” a specific office. area of World Health Organization-. To date, there is no available evidence of disease severity associated with the BA.2.12.1 substrain (1)”.

These three strains are under surveillance because they include a mutation associated with increased transmissibility and also immune system evasion.

Although the number of new cases detected in the country continues to decline in official communications released on Sunday and underreporting increases due to lack of testing, infections are on the rise in the region; Most cases do not require hospitalization. This is what PAHO officials indicated today, at a press conference.

In South America, reported new cases grew 24.6% in the past week, with nearly half a million infections detected, compared to 7.7% in the United States and Mexico or 3.2% in the Caribbean.

“These numbers remind us that many people remain at risk,” said the director of the Pan American Health Organization. Carissa Etienne.