Israeli Expert Warns India Has New Covid-19 Sub-variant Of Omicron

A new sub-variant of Omicron BA.2.75, detected in about ten Indian states, may be alarming, according to an Israeli expert.

It has yet to be officially confirmed that the sub-variant has been detected in India by the Indian Health Ministry.

Dr. Shay Fleishon, from the Central Virology Laboratory at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, wrote on Twitter that 85 sequences from eight countries have been uploaded to Nextstrain, an open-source genomic data platform.

Among these were 69 from India: Delhi (1), Haryana (6), Himachal Pradesh (3), Jammu (1), Karnataka (10), Madhya Pradesh (5), Maharashtra (27), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (1), and West Bengal (13).

Seven other countries have also reported the strain, according to Nextstrain: Japan (1), Germany (2), the UK (6), Canada (2), the US (2), Australia (1), and New Zealand (2).

In a tweet, Fleishon wrote, "No transmissions have been tracked based on sequences outside India yet.".

BA.2.75 may be alarming because it might imply a trend in the future, although it is too early to tell if it will be the next dominant variant, he said.

A trend of second generation variants based on Omicron sub-lineages has emerged in recent months, explained Fleishon.

Specifically, this was based on Omicron lineages with mutations in the S1 section of the spike protein which the virus utilizes to connect with and enter cells.

The rise in these subvariants has, however, been "at a level not seen in second-generation variants from other variants of concern".

Additionally, these second-generation variants have only been detected in a few cases within a region so far. Multi-regional spread of a second-generation Omicron variant is unprecedented.

“It is alarming that such a divergent second-generation variant can succeed across hosts. "If BA.2.75 fails, and even if it does, other 2nd gen might grow better over time," Fleishon said.

In a tweet, Imperial College London scientist Thomas Peacock recommended keeping an eye on the sub-variant.

Keep an eye out for this

Additionally, Bloom Lab at the Fred Hutch research institute in the US flagged BA.2.75 as a potential threat.

As the institute stated in a tweet this week, the subvariant "is worth tracking, as it is showing appreciable antigenic differences from its parent BA.2".

Two mutations were identified as key: G446S and R493Q.

As a result, G446S is at one of the most important sites for antibodies to escape from current vaccines that still neutralize BA.2. This will result in decreased neutralisation of BA.2 for immunity from vaccines or early infections," according to the researchers.

In contrast, G446S will have less impact on antibodies of people who have previously been infected with BA.1. This means that BA.2.75 will be more antigenic than BA.2 when exposed to people who have never been infected with BA.1.

Therefore, "BA.2.75 will have similar antibody escape to BA.4/5 with respect to the current vaccine".

COVID uses ACE2 to enter cells, so the R493Q mutation appears to enhance the virus' ability to attach to it.

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