New Delhi : The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has confirmed the first cases of BA.4 and BA.5 – each of them known to be a sub-variant of Omicron.
“A 19-year-old woman in Tamil Nadu has been found infected with the BA.4 variant of SARS-CoV-2. The patient has shown only mild clinical symptoms and has been fully vaccinated. The patient had no travel history. Earlier, a South African passenger was tested positive for BA.4 variant on arrival at Hyderabad airport, INSACOG said in a bulletin.
“An 80-year-old male in Telangana has tested positive for BA.5 variant SARS-CoV-2. The patient has shown only mild clinical symptoms and has been fully vaccinated. The patient had no travel history,” it said, adding that contact tracing of BA.4 and BA.5 patients is being done as a precautionary measure.
On May 20, Mint had already reported that the authorities have resumed contact tracing after a gap of almost three months since the first case of BA.4 was detected in India.
BA.4 and BA.5 are sub-types of the Omicron version that circulates globally. These were first reported from South Africa earlier this year and are now reported from several other countries. These variants are not associated with disease severity or hospitalization.