She was given a nickname Centaurs This worries virologists because it could cause new waves. Omicron’s new sub-variant BA 2.75, first detected in India in early May, has now also been detected in the UK, Europe, US, Australia, Germany and Canada, and is on “special surveillance” by the WHO. Seems to spread faster than the centaurus variant Omicron BA.5 BA.2 (omicron 2) Formerly prevalent in many countries.

Il July 7 European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) He called it an “observed variant,” meaning it was suspected to be more transmissible or associated with more serious diseases. even though Studies are still ongoing There is no guarantee of its great contagion or danger.

Centaurs, why bother?

The Variant Ba 2.75 Presenting 8 mutations According to the experts, the spike protein, which separates from Omicron 2 and 11 compared to Omicron 5, precisely increases these high mutations “Immune escape“That means the possibility of the virus Covid To overcome immunity acquired with a previous infection. In practice, “re-infection” with a new variant is possible after some time, which can cause a new pandemic wave.

In India, then, this new sub-variant appears in competition with Omicron 5, which according to some experts will make the covid more infectious than BA.5, perhaps at higher levels than measles.

«The outcome of so many mutations is difficult to predict Appearing together: they give the virus a “wildcard” property in which the sum of the parts is worse than the individual parts,” explains virologist Tom Peacock of Imperial College London, who first identified the omicron.

What happens after Omicron?

According to the peacock Sub variant centaurus “Can be confusing BA 5, gain dominion ». Otherwise, it can be a “taste” of what will happen in the coming months: the great ability of the virus to mutate may lead to the spread of “”.Variants of a variant“Making New Waves.

This is not the first time that the virus has taken us by surprise. As Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, observes: ‘Last year we were convinced that delta virus represented the pinnacle of evolution, but the emergence of the omicron and the variation and evasion of antibodies has been a huge boost. A sign that we, as a population, cannot follow a flu-like plan to keep pace with viral evolution.