Geneva: A subvariant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain, which some studies suggest could be even more infectious than the original form, has been reported in 57 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, according to an NDTV report.
The rapidly-spreading and heavily mutated Omicron variant has quickly become the dominant variant around the globe since it was first reported in southern Africa 10 weeks ago.
In its weekly epidemiological update, the WHO informed that the variant, which accounts for more than 93 percent of all coronavirus specimens collected in the past month, counts several sub-lineages: BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 and BA.3.
The BA.1 and BA.1.1 -- the first versions recognized -- still account for more than 96 percent of all the Omicron sequences uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, it said.
But there has been a clear increase in cases involving BA.2, which counts many different mutations from the original version -- including on the spike protein that dots the virus's surface and is key to entering human cells.
"BA.2- designated sequences have been submitted to GISAID from 57 countries to date," WHO said, adding that in some nations, the sub-variant now accounted for over half of all Omicron sequences collected.
The UN health body said little was knowledge about the differences between the sub-variants, and called for analysis into its features, including its transmissibility, how good it is at resisting immune protections and its severity.
"We need people to be aware that this virus is continuing to circulate and its continuing to evolve," she said.
"It's really important that we take measures to reduce our exposure to this virus, whichever variant is circulating."
