A senior scientist has stated that South Africa is witnessing more cases of the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron and that the country is monitoring it, adding that there is no clear indication that the sub-variant is considerably different from the original Omicron strain.

Michelle Groome, from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, reported that BA.2 was observed in 23% of the 450 samples from January sequenced by the country’s genomic surveillance network, while the original strain accounted for 75%. Among the 2,243 samples from December, BA.2 accounted for 4% while the original strain was seen in 94%.

Groome said that they are observing the surge in BA.2 and are increasing sequencing from the provinces where increase in cases is being observed, in order to monitor the proportion tied to BA.2. She added that she was not expecting any considerable changes in the symptoms of BA.2 sub-lineage… (Reuters, February 4, 2022)