Maharashtra: Four cases of B.A.4 and three cases of B.A.5 variants of Omicron reported in Pune for first time

Maharashtra is the latest state to report cases of new variants of B.A.4 and B.A.5. These are the sub-variants of the Omicron strain, which was responsible for driving the third wave of Covid-19 in India in January.

According to the reports, four cases of the B.A.4 variant and three cases of the B.A.5 variant were reported in the state for the first time. Among the infected, four of them are men, and three are women. According to the official, four of the patients are over the age of 50, two are between the ages of 20 and 40, and one is a nine-year-old child.

The Institute of Science Education and Research carried out whole-genome sequencing, which was confirmed by the Indian Biological Data Centre in Faridabad.

Vaccination:
The health department on Saturday stated that all the cases were from Pune. Reportedly, all six adults have taken both the doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, while one has also been jabbed with the booster shot. The child is unvaccinated.

Symptoms:
The officials said that there is no need to worry as they have mild symptoms and are treated successfully in home isolation. The samples of the infected were taken between May 4 and 18.

Travel History:
Two of the patients had visited South Africa and Belgium, while the other three had visited Kerala and Karnataka. The other two patients had no travel history.

Earlier, two cases of BA.4 were detected in Tamil Nadu and Telangana, BA.5 too has been detected in Telangana.

The subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 were initially discovered in South Africa in January of this year, during the third wave of Covid-19 in India. According to the World Health Organization, Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 have been found in more than a dozen countries, causing Covid outbreaks around the world. WHO’s technical head on Covid Maria Van Kerkhove said that the new sub-variants do not produce more severe illnesses than the original Omicron strain, but they appear to be more contagious.