Covid-19

A Third Variant Of Omicron BA.3: All About The Symptoms and Its Severity

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2022

A new form of Omicron threatens the common person as we slowly return to normal, with covid-19 cases at an all-time low. Each virus mutates at some point, and it is through a mutation that new strains emerge. As the virus mutates into variants, it can branch off into sub-variants or sub-lineages.

According to reports, the Delta variation of Coronavirus is composed of around 200 subvariants. The Omicron variation is composed of BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, and B.1.1.529 sub-variants, with the BA.1 sub-variant dominating until recently, and scientists lately warning about the BA.2 sub-variant. WHO experts have now pointed out that there may be another Omicron sublineage BA.3.

All About The Third Variant Of Omicron BA.3

WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, stated that the severity of BA.2 and BA.1 subvariants of Omicron is similar and that there is a BA.3 lineage among all Omicron lineages.

WHO data indicates that Omicron includes descendants of Pango lineage B.1.1.529 and descendant Pango lineages BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, and BA.3. On January 18, 2022, a study in the Journal of Medical Virology confirmed the presence of the BA.3 sublineage.

Must Read: Omicron Sub-Variant Detected In 57 Countries, Says WHO

Originally, the BA.3 sublineage was discovered in northwestern South Africa. Just 0.013% of the total genome sequences uploaded to the GISAID database on January 11, 2022, had the BA.3 Omicron subvariant, while BA.1 was the most common. The study also found that BA.3 had fewer mutations than BA.1 and theorized that the loss of mutations may account for BA.3’s lower infection rates.

Is Omicron BA.3 Variant Severe?

Research has identified BA.3 as the Omicron lineage with the fewest members. The human body’s reaction to a virus variant determines its impact on the human body.

Omicron is thought to be the mildest variant of all the coronaviruses found so far. Its subvariant BA.1 caused fewer hospitalizations during the third wave. However, this variety spreads rapidly.

Reuters reported on a Japanese study in which Maria Van Kerkhove stated, “We are looking to see whether there is a signal of more severe disease in hamsters under experimental conditions, in addition to what we call the real world.”

While little is known about the severity of the three subvariations, it is clear that they share the same parental variant, as per reports.