The first confirmed case of the BA4 Omicron variant in India has been reported from Hyderabad. According to the recent data available with the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), the group of genetic laboratories that are working to identify new variants of SARS-CoV-2 from Indian Covid positive patients.

What are the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron, and can they lead to a Covid surge in India?

The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has declared the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron as ‘variants of concern’. Being a sub-variant of Omicron, the World Health Organisation (WHO) already considers both variants of concern.

Geneticists identified the BA4 Omicron variant from a Covid positive individual sample in Hyderabad, which was collected on 9 May 2022. Since January, the BA4 and BA5 variants of Omicron have been associated with the fifth Covid wave in South Africa, a fresh wave of infections in the US and Europe. This is the first time that the BA4 variant of Omicron has been reported in India.

On 12 May 2022, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDPC), which strengthens Europe’s defences against infectious disease, declared BA4 and BA5 Omicron variants as Variants of Concern (VOC). The new Omicron variants, BA4 and BA5, have replaced the BA2 variant of the Omicron, which was the active circulating virus in many countries.