The new subvariant of omicron is under the scrutiny of health authorities. It is a subvariant of ómicron, BA.2.75, which they nicknamed Centaur. It has been described as a “possible second-generation variant” that has spread rapidly throughout India, where it was first detected, and has now also been found in seven other countries.

It is currently undergoing studies to evaluate its transmission power and severity in humans, but specialists are following it closely as it is a new derivative of BA.2 that may or may not replace the currently dominant BA.4 and BA. .5 .

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in the words of the chief scientist in India Soumya Swaminathahn, warned that “there has been an emergency due to -what could be- the new subvariant”. The country was the first to detect the subvariance, besides, that’s where most cases are concentrated.

Its rate of growth has already begun to attract the attention of the scientific community. In India alone, it already represents at least 23% of consecutive infections and is growing at a rate of at least 17% per day faster than the other subvariants.

Other countries that have been detected are Germany, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) talks about the “ten countries” but has not finished determining which ones.

In Spain, the dominant variants are BA.4 and BA.5, both sublineages of omicron, which are currently causing a new wave of infections forcing authorities to start requiring masks to be used indoors, and when they will interact. with vulnerable people.

The first analysis showed that the omicron subvariance called Centaurus presented 16 new genomic mutations, eight of which were in the S protein. The key mutations were G446S and R493Q, which help evade the ability to evade antibodies.

India’s chief scientist reports that there is a “limited sequence” of this subvariant but “seems to have some mutations in the binding domain of the S protein receptor, which is an important part of viruses that trap human cells, for which we need to monitor it. It is too early to know if this subvariance has the additional ability to evade an immune response or cause more severe disease. We don’t know that. We’ll have to wait and continue to monitor.”

Doctor Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that the BA.4 and BA.5 variants were the ones that maintained the new wave of transmission in America and Europe, while in other countries they followed BA.2.75.

According to the specialist as well as the WHO director, “it will have to be seen if it appears in other countries and if, in competition with the dominant variant, it is able to move it to a different location, demonstrating an edge over them.”

“This transmission is mainly due to the fact that novel subvariants such as BA.5 have a partial capacity to partially evade the immune response, leading to reinfection even in BA.1-infected persons at Christmas,” he stressed. .director. @mundiario