AN Omicron form named BA.2 has been designated as a “variant under investigation”, with 426 cases of the variant sub-lineage confirmed in the United Kingdom (UK).

“The original lineage, BA.1, is dominant in the UK. The proportion of BA.2 cases is currently low”, with the earliest dated December 6, said the UK Health Security Agency in a statement yesterday, as reported by Xinhua.

Forty countries have uploaded 8,040 BA.2 sequences to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data since November 17. At this point, it is not possible to determine where the sub-lineage may have originated.

The first sequences were submitted from the Philippines, while most samples were uploaded from Denmark (6,411). Other countries that uploaded more than 100 samples are India (530), Sweden (181) and Singapore (127).

UK Health Security Agency incident director Meera Chand said new mutations are “expected” as the pandemic continues.

“So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than BA.1.” – Bernama, January 22, 2022.