So far three cases of the subvariant called BA.2 have been identified in the country, although it had previously been reported in Denmark, Norway and the Indian city of Calcutta.
Scientists from the Academic Laboratory of the city of Upsala (Sweden) have detected a new mutation of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in the country, the local channel SVT Nyheter reported on Monday .
So far, three cases of the subvariant called BA.2 have been detected in the country, although it was previously reported in Denmark, Norway and the Indian city of Calcutta. According to the estimates of the sampling manager of the Academic Laboratory, Mats Martinell, the cases found in the country are no longer contagious . However, the expert believes that there could be more infected with the new mutation.
“This finding is not at all surprising . The greater the spread of the infection, the greater the risk of change. There will be many more sub-variants,” Martinell said.
For his part, Johan Lennerstrand, professor of microbiology at the center, emphasized that it is still premature to take stock of the transmissivity and severity implied by the BA.2 subvariant.
In early December of last year, the British newspaper The Guardian reported on the finding of BA.2, described by experts as the “stealth” version of the omicron variant.
Due to the absence of a genetic particularity, the subvariant in question cannot be distinguished from other variants by conventional PCR tests.