Hyderabad Records 2nd Case of BA Variant of Omicron

HYDERABAD: A South African national was recently diagnosed with the BA.4 sub-variant of Omicron is a Hyderabad business school, and now another individual has tested positive for the BA.5 sub-variant.

While officials are on high alert, the health department is accelerating genome sequencing of the samples because both Omicron sub-variants have been traced in a matter of days.

The patient, a legal consultant in Hyderabad, was diagnosed with the BA.5 type and is being treated at home with minimal symptoms. Two more samples were taken after contact tracing.

"In the last 10 days, we have been doing genome testing for most RT-PCR tests done following the detection of BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants. There is no spread of BA.4 as of now. Only one person was detected with the BA.5 sub-variant," a top health official stated.

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Though officials claimed Telangana had the first BA.5 case, worldwide data shows that the first BA.5 case in India was found in Gujarat. While the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) verified the presence of the first BA.5 case in Telangana, GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data) confirmed its presence in Gujarat.

Despite the detection of BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants, state officials claim there is no need to be concerned about their fast proliferation.

"The current situation indicates that there is no immediate concern for the spike of the virus," an official said.

Officials aren't too concerned about the spread of the variations, citing the case of a 19-year-old girl who was recently diagnosed with the BA.4 type. He lives in Chennai, and his mother, who was also positive, was found with the BA.2 sub-variant.

He lives in Chennai, and his mother, who was also positive, was found with the BA.2 sub-variant.

In Telangana, genomic sequence analysis on global and Indian platforms in the previous month found that over 99 per cent of the samples were of the BA.2 type, with no sign of the Delta variation. Since the pandemic began, 15,142 samples have been collected, updated, and analysed for genome sequencing, according to GISAID.