It has been confirmed by an expert that the variant of concern, Omicron, now has now three sub variants, in which, one came up from two sub-lineages that were found recently. As per the Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak Lineages (PANGOLIN), the body that is responsible for assigning lineages under ‘Pango lineage’ system to different viruses including the virus that causes Covid-19, the third sub variant of Omicron was discovered from a sample collected from England on December 3. And, the new third subvariant of Omicron has been temporarily named England/MILK-2D24AC9/2021.
On Sunday, Dr. Vinod Scaria of Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi, confirmed the same in his tweet, talking about the new outlier of Omicron lineage along with other shared mutations. Omicron variant or B.1.1.529 earlier this month, split in two sub-lineages BA.1 and BA.2. These two sub variants have some shared mutations, while some are still different to them. PANGOLIN announced in its website, "A new diverse genome has appeared within the B.1.1.529 lineage that has all of the shared mutations of B.1.1.529, some of the mutations unique to BA.1 and some unique to BA.2 plus a few of its own."
A new outlier of B.1.1.529 lineage with some shared mutations ��https://t.co/WYpkO8GS1u
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It further said that there is a chance the new Omicron subvariant is an additional circulating element of B.1.1.529 diversity and recombination has occurred in its mutation. Moreover, it added, “may have mutated prior to emergence of BA.1 clade based on pattern of mutations.” It also said that, “as a single genome it doesn't yet require a lineage designation and at the moment it will be classified as a member of Omicron”. However, experts have also been saying that though Omicron has been spreading faster than other variants, still most of the patients have experienced mild symptoms.
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It is important to take all the necessary precautions to prevent Covid-19's Omicron variant. These preventive measures include frequent handwashing and sanitizing, wearing masks and avoiding crowdy areas. You should be aware about the main symptoms of this highly transmissible variant. The signs of Covid-19's Omicron variant that have been observed in most of the patients according to South Africa's Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of South African Medical Association on omicron virus, are:
- Minor pain in muscles
- Scratchy throat
- Extreme fatigue
- Dry cough
- Less or no fever