New 'stealth Omicron' strain - symptoms and why it's 'under investigation'
24.01.2022 - 20:17
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A new Covid variant - 'Stealth Omicron' - has been confirmed as being watched by health officials.
The UK Health and Science Agency (UKHSA) has classified it as a 'variant under investigation' - a level below 'variant of concern'.
As Omicron rages, it's possible for further new variants to develop, which is why health chiefs are closely watching as it evolves.
The sub-strain of Omicron called BA.2 has been dubbed 'stealth Omicron' due to its infectiousness and ability to evade vaccines, The Mirror reports.
Despite high booster and overall vaccination rates, cases of the virus remain high and the 'stealth Omicron' sub-variant is raising questions.
So what is it and what do we know so far?
The BA.2 sub-strain is known as the ' stealth Omicron ' as it reportedly can avoid detection from certain types of PCR test.
This is a concern as PCR tests are vital for detecting the virus more accurately.
In this case, BA.2 has a slight anomaly different to the dominant BA.1 sub-strain that PCR tests look for, making it harder to detect.
The sub-strain is also known as the 'BA.2 lineage'.
Last week, Denmark reported that the sub-strain was making up for nearly half of the country's cases, and that as cases of it increased, overall cases jumped to a record high.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said : "While the BA.1 lineage has previously been the most dominant, recent trends from India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Denmark suggest that BA.2 is increasing in proportion."
We already know that different variants of Covid bring with them slightly different symptoms, as sufferers of Omicron reported they were more likely to experience cold-like symptoms of a runny nose and sore throat.
A UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) report from