The next variant could be CentaurusWhile the Covid Omicron 5 variant continues to spread in Italy, with the peak reached at the end of July, researchers study the next moves of viruses, to anticipate them. And in particular, eyes are on the Omicron sub-variant called BA.2.75 and nicknamed “Centaurus” which is growing rapidly in India.
Some scientists, in an article in Naturealso reported by SkyTg24, they are sounding the alarm, while others say it is too early to say whether the variant will spread widely. In India, hospitalization or mortality rates do not yet appear to increase.
BA.2.75 has been detected in more than 20 countries around the world and researchers are waiting to know if the number of cases will increase substantially. A number of studies suggest that the two variants have more or less similar abilities to dodge immunity conferred by infection and vaccination.
This suggests that “Centaurus” may not push cases out of India, at least not while population immunity is high and before the variant picks up many extra mutations. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants is falling by the wayside in many countries, but India appears to be the epicenter of the spread of BA.2.75. This mutation-laden lineage evolved from Omicron’s BA.2 sub-variant, which spread widely in early 2022.
Researchers in India have sequenced more than 1,000 samples of the variant since May. The data suggests that around two-thirds of new cases are currently caused by BA.2.75, says Shahid Jameel, a virologist at the University of Oxford in the UK who previously led the Indian SARS-CoV-2 sequencing consortium.