BENGALURU: Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr K Sudhakar on Wednesday confirmed the prevalence of new sub-lineages of Omicron -- BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5 -- in Covid-19 cases reported in Bengaluru. Health Commissioner D Randeep told TNIE that INSACOG (Indian SARS Cov2 Genomics Consortium) confirmed the presence of BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5 in the genomic sequencing of 44 samples which tested positive between June 2 and 9.
Dr Sudhakar revealed that BA.5 was confirmed in 38 samples, BA.4 in four samples and BA.3 in two samples. The new variants are observed to be in the nascent phase -- BA.3 constitutes 0.10 per cent of the cases reported in May- June, BA.4 constitutes 0.20 per cent, and BA.5 constitutes 1.70 per cent, he said. Covid Technical Advisory Committee Chairman Dr M K Sudarshan said these new sub-lineages are more transmissible than the previous variants.
They can also re-infect those who had contracted the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in January this year. The symptoms are same -- stuffy nose, body ache, sore throat and fatigue -- but the severity of illness varies, depending on comorbid conditions, especially related to the heart, lung, kidney, liver and morbid obesity, he said.