New Omicron subtype BA.2 is spreading quickly

The rapid spread of the new subtype suggests that it could be even more contagious than the original Omicron variant. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has classified BA.2 as a "variant under surveillance."

A new subtype of the Omicron coronavirus variant is spreading in Denmark, the UK, India, Sweden and many other countries. The exact impact of the genome mutations is still unclear.

The Omicron subtype BA.2 has been found in more than 40 countries worldwide(CHROMORANGE/picture alliance )

We already know from the first Omicron variant BA.1 that it is significantly more contagious than earlier coronavirus variants. Now a subtype, BA.2, has emerged. At least 400 people have been infected with it during the first 10 days of January in the UK. And it has already been detected in more than 40 other countries worldwide.

Most detections in Denmark

The PANGO directory of coronaviruses, which is regularly updated by scientists from the universities of Oxford, Edinburgh and Cambridge, lists Denmark as the most affected area, with 79% of the cases detected so far.

It is followed by Great Britain (6%), India (5%), Sweden (2%) and Singapore (2%). However, it should be noted that detection of the subtype depends on the ability of individual health systems to sequence PCR tests.

Danger posed by Omicron BA.2 still unknown

The rapid spread of the new subtype suggests that it could be even more contagious than the original Omicron variant. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has classified BA.2 as a "variant under surveillance."

"It is the nature of viruses to evolve and mutate, so it's to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge as the pandemic goes on," said Meera Chand, Incident Director at UKHSA. "Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to detect them and assess whether they are significant."

For subtype BA.2, that analysis is still underway.

"So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than Omicron BA.1," Chand said.

Vaccination remains important in face of new mutations

U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid added that the emergence of the new variant shows the continued importance of vaccination: "I encourage you to give yourself and your loved ones the best protection possible and get boosted now."

French epidemiologist Antoine Flahault told the French news agency AFP: "What surprised us is the rapidity with which this sub-variant, which has been circulating to a great extent in Asia, has taken hold in Denmark."

Meanwhile, infections with subtype BA.2 have so far not been more severe than with subtype BA.1.

French Health Minister Olivier Véran remains relaxed about BA.2: "What we know for now is that [it] more or less corresponds to the characteristics that we know of Omicron," he told AFP.

Scientists concerned with possible Omicron-delta recombination

Meanwhile, German virologist Christian Drosten of Berlin's Charité University Hospital stressed in an interview with Deutschlandfunk public radio that combining one of the two Omicron variants with delta could, however, lead to the development of an even more dangerous virus. Omicron has certain mutations on its surface protein, the so-called spike protein, with which it can more easily evade the body's immune defenses.

This trait could become particularly dangerous through recombination, which "carries the spike protein of the Omicron virus to continue to enjoy that immune advantage, but has the rest of the genome of the delta virus," Drosten said.

Thus, the strongest features of both variants could come together.

"There is such a thing, it has already been described, you have to fear that something like this could happen at the moment," Drosten warned.

Just recently, a researcher in Cyprus had reported a new variant that could be a recombination of both virus variants. However, the discovery of that "deltacron-variant" has not been widely accepted. Experts say the finding could also be attributed to contamination of samples in the lab.