-Galla S Kiran Kumar,Bureau Chief Telagana (Andhra Pradesh)
London: Although the Corona virus (Coronavirus) epidemic seems to be under control around the world, it is surviving by changing its form from time to time. In this order it has been found that the new type of Omicron BA.4.6 is spreading in Britain. Britain’s Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) revealed that 3.3 percent of the Covid samples tested in the UK in August contained this variant.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that the BA.4.6 variant is widespread in the United States as well. More than 9 percent of the cases where sequencing was carried out showed this new variant. The CDC said that this variant is already spreading in many countries around the world, not just America and Britain.
Is this variant dangerous?
* BA.4.6 is a subtype of Omicron BA.4. BA4 was first identified in South Africa in January this year. Since then, along with this variant, BA.5 is also spreading in many countries of the world.
* It is unclear how exactly the BA.4.6 variant originated. However, experts suspect that this variant arose due to the combination of some variants (recombinant).
* If the same person is infected with two types of corona virus at the same time, it is considered as recombinant.
* This type of corona virus of R346T mutation is already spreading in many countries.
* Similar to the Omicron variant, BA.4.6 is spreading rapidly, but experts estimate that the severity of the disease is low. Deaths are also said to be low.
* However, experts have already recognized that BA5, which is currently highly prevalent, has the ability to escape the immune system. Preliminary studies seem to have shown that the recently discovered BA.4.6 has a higher escape capacity.
* Experts say that if we look at the new variants, it is clear that the corona virus is still among us. In this context, it is suggested that there will be complete protection due to vaccination.
