Findings of sub-variant of Omicron is a matter of concern: Dr Tamorish Kole

Referring to the findings of Australia-based data scientist Mike Honey, Dr Kole said that although scientists are collecting evidence to ascertain its lethality, "the states where this sub-variant has been identified need to do close monitoring."

New Delhi: At a time when India is fighting against the Omicron variant of Covid19, detection of its sub-variant (BA.2) has raised alarm bells in the country's healthcare sector.

Confirming the same, Dr Tamorish Kole, president of the Asian Society of Emergency Medicine told ETV Bharat "The findings of a sub-variant (BA.2) of Omicron is really a matter of serious concern."

The sub-variant of Omicron (BA.1) has been found in several countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands.

India's genomic sequencing consortia, INSACOG has recently said that BA.2 lineage is a substantial fraction in India and S-gene dropout-based screening is likely to give high false negatives.

Referring to the findings of Australia-based data scientist Mike Honey, Dr Kole said that although scientists are collecting evidence to ascertain its lethality, "the states where this sub-variant has been identified need to do close monitoring."

He further said that States like Assam, Manipur, New Delhi, and Telangana need to adopt extra precautions.

"There is a steep rise of BA.2 lineage in Assam, Manipur, with Telangana and New Delhi on similar trajectories," added Dr Kole.

As the third wave of the Covid19 peak is likely to take place next fortnight, findings of a new sub-variant have really put the Indian scientific community under pressure.

In many countries like Denmark, Singapore, BA.2 has been out-competing BA.1 for some weeks now. There are some reports of re-infections of BA.2, especially among those relying on natural immunity from Delta or BA.1.

More than 11,500 Omicron cases have been detected across India to date, although the actual number of Omicron is suspected to be much more since this variant of Covid19 is the driving factor for a sudden surge in cases.

In the last 24 hours, India reported 3,06,064 new cases with daily positivity of 20.75 percent.