RKI also detects new worrying corona variants in Germany - more and more subtypes in circulation

Created: 05/08/2022 04:53

By: Marc Dimitriu

There are numerous subtypes of the corona variant Omicron.

Several have already been detected in Germany.

The RKI classifies the new data.

Berlin – It is not easy to keep track of the numerous corona variants.

At Omikron, there are now several sub-variants.

The BA.2 subtype now dominates in Germany.

In a random sample, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the share for the week before last as over 95 percent.

BA.2, thanks to better transferability, replaced the previously dominant BA.1 variant.

But there are even more new omicron subtypes and mixed variants.

Corona: New omicron subtypes still rare in Germany

According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, these have so far been found relatively rarely or not at all in Germany.

As of April 18, a total of 25 samples were detected from line BA.5, according to the RKI weekly report on Thursday evening.

The proportion in the sample was therefore 0.2 percent the week before last.

More recent values ​​are not yet available.

BA.4 has not yet been proven.

In Germany, however, the genome is only decoded in a small proportion of the positive samples.

BA.4 and BA.5 have only recently become known and are classified as of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of Omicron.

According to WHO information, there was evidence from South Africa and some European countries.

Both sub-lines had different characteristics than other Omikron variants, it was said - but details are still open.

Corona in Germany: According to the RKI, several mixed variants are in circulation

In addition, the RKI reports evidence of several mixed variants (so-called recombinants) that are observed.

They can develop when a host cell is infected with two different pathogens at the same time.

The RKI records the following evidence: one each from XD (spike protein from omicron, remainder delta) and from XE and three from XG.

The latter two are mixtures of BA.1 and BA.2.

"The XM line detected most frequently (90 times) is a recombinant from the omicron sublines BA.1.1 and BA.2," writes the RKI.

This was identified for the first time in mid-February and has since been detected in several European countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands and Great Britain.

It was said that the proof was partly also provided by a targeted search for certain characteristic mutations.

The RKI also points out that the classification can currently still be error-prone.

Overall, however, the general dynamic in the corona pandemic, with the exception of late public holiday registrations, continues to decrease.

So far, there has been no epidemiological evidence of altered transmissibility, disease severity and/or altered immune response in the recombinants compared to the original variants.

It has been said that XE may be a bit more transferrable compared to BA.2.

New Omikron variant in the USA: Lauterbach warns

Another variant has now appeared in the USA: BA.2.12.1.

As reported by the New York Health Department, the virus variant is said to have a significant growth advantage over the previously known form BA.2.

Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach already warned about the new variant on Twitter.

He writes: "No one likes to hear that, but it's like this: the corona virus remains unpredictable.

However, by monitoring new variants and adapting the vaccines, we are well prepared."