12 March 2022
An article written some 22 hours ago by Jack Slater and published by Metro and released on the MSN (UK) website had the following information on the new Omicron sub-variant
I will quote the article and share it will readers in the Solomon Islands but I want to stress the following –
The information below does not come from the information services of the Solomon Islands Government or from the Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services. Any information or guidance on what is now known to be a new sub-variant of Omicron should come from the official government or MHMS sources at home.
Quote
There are fears that the new Omicron variant could lead to a surge in cases.
BA.2, known better under the moniker ‘stealth Omicron’, is a new Covid-19 sub-variant currently ‘under investigation’ by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The variant was identified in the UK in January and has since spread across the country – with over 1,000 confirmed cases in England alone so far.
The variant has been reported in 40 countries, with Denmark seeing the most significant rise in BA.2 cases.
Here is all you need to know about the new variant.
What is the stealth Omicron variant?
BA.2 is a sub-lineage of the original Omicron – BA.1 – but appears to have certain differences that may make it both faster at spreading and harder to detect.
BA.2 shows positive for the S-gene (the largest of the four major structural proteins found in coronaviruses, sometimes called the spike gene) while BA.1 does not. The fact BA.1 lacked the S-gene was key to detecting and tracking the spread of Omicron early on, as it distinguished it from Delta.
It’s not clear where BA.2 emerged from, though the first cases were recorded in the Philippines.
Tom Peacock, a virologist from the Imperial College of London said there may be some evidence it is spreading faster – but more research is needed.
He tweeted: ‘BA.2 appears to be the major Omicron lineage in (part of) India and the Philippines and there is evidence it is growing compared to BA.1 in Denmark, the UK and Germany.
‘Consistent growth across multiple countries is evidence BA.2 may be some degree more transmissible than BA.1. This is the main reason BA.2 is currently in the news.’
What are the symptoms of the stealth Omicron Covid variant?
Currently, no new symptoms have been identified.
As the new variant is a sub-lineage of Omicron, it can therefore be expected that similar Omicron symptoms could present.
These include:
- Fatigue
- Night sweats
- Scratchy throat
- Dry cough
- Mild muscle aches
In data published by the UKHSA on January 14, they found that NHS test and trace data revealed a loss of smell or taste was reported less often by Omicron cases than Delta cases (13% of Omicron cases, 34% of Delta cases).
A sore throat is one of the most commonly identified symptoms of the Omicron variant
However, officials at the World Health Organisation (WHO) assured that BA.2 symptoms are just as mild as the original version.
‘Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we’re not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalization than expected,’ Dr Boris Pavlin, a member of the WHO’s Covid-19 Response Team, said during a briefing.
‘Vaccination is profoundly protective against severe disease, including for Omicron. BA.2 is rapidly replacing BA.1. Its impact is unlikely to be substantial, although more data are needed.’
Why is it called the stealth Omicron variant?
BA.2 has many shared characteristics of the original Omicron – BA.1 – but the new variant gets its stealth nickname from one of its key differences.
Omicron was relatively easy to track because of a specific trait – the deletion of a spike gene. This made it stand out on PCR tests without the need for extra genome sequencing.
But the new stealth Omicron strain does not appear to have this, making it more difficult to monitor.
It means that while PCR tests will still spot if someone has this version of Covid-19, the samples would need to be sent for further lab analysis to determine if someone had stealth Omicron.
Is stealth Omicron more transmissible than normal Omicron?
Although it is too early to know for certain, early reports indicate that BA.2 is even more infectious than the already extremely contagious BA.1 Omicron
In England, a preliminary analysis of contact tracing from December 27 to January 11 by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggests that household transmission is higher among contacts of people infected with BA.2 – the new variant has a household transmission rate of 13.4%, compared with 10.3% for normal Omicron cases.
End of quote.
Comment
The advice is that having fully Covid vaccinations is profoundly effective against Covid-19 and I encourage all those in the Solomon Islands that have still not had at least two vaccinations of a WHO approved vaccine to do so as soon as possible.
It is also vitally important to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 to practice safe distancing, frequent hand washing with soap and water and the use of hand gel.
One commentator of the letters I have published in the local media and on the Facebook pages of the Island Sun, Solomon Star, Solomon SB Herald, and on Linkedin and my international website has commented that people are not complying with the simple safety rules to prevent the spread and transmission of coronavirus, although the Minister of Health has constantly advised the public of the necessity of adhering to such rules.
I would please request that the safety rules be fully complied with in addition to getting fully vaccinated to protect personal health and the transmission of the Covid virus that has already cost too many lives in the Solomons.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
