The MCTI Network genomic surveillance detected, in Belo Horizonte, three infections with the BA 2.12.1 lineage of the Ômicron predominant in the United States. These are the first cases of the subvariant in Brazil.
Researchers at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), members of the RedeVírus MCTI and the Corona-Ômicron sub-network, through genetic sequencing of samples from infected patients, reported the lineage in patients, two women and one man, who participated in an international event in Rio de Janeiro last week.
The coordinator of CT Vacinas and a member of RedeVírus MCTI, Professor Flávio Fonseca, said that the Ômicron variant is now prevalent throughout the world. And in these cases, the virus can undergo small changes, which generate lineages or subvariants.
“When this variant is predominant, it begins to undergo small modifications, which leads to the formation of lineages or subvariants. BA 2.12, which was identified in Belo Horizonte, had not been detected in Brazil before and is already prevalent in the United States,” he said.
Fonseca says that this means that she [subvariante] has some evolutionary advantage of dissemination over other lineages.
“There are still no studies to determine whether it is more serious or more infectious, but there are indications that it is indeed more infectious than other lineages of Ômicron”, he says.
About the subvariant
BA.2.12.1 accounted for about 42.6% of all strings of new cases in the US during the week ending May 7, according to Dice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
BA.2 was still the dominant subvariant in the country, accounting for 56.4% of all new sequence cases that week.
The World Health Organization (WHO) technical lead for Covid, Maria Van Kerkhove, urged governments around the world to closely monitor BA.2.12.1 and other sub-variants that may arise in the future during a press conference, highlighting the need to maintain testing and disease sequencing.
The UFMG researchers recommend caution by Organs state and federal agencies responsible for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Brazilian territory.
Source: CNN Brasil
