The Centaurus variant of Covid 19 is less contagious and less dangerous than Omicron 5. This is certified by the study “On the SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.75 variant: a genetic and structural point of view”, conducted by researchers from the University of Sassari , in collaboration with the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome and the Department of Biochemical Sciences of the Sapienza University of Rome.
Genetic perspective
The Centaurus analysis, published in the prestigious Journal of Medical Virology, is the first to provide a genetic perspective by analyzing all available genomes and conducting the first evolutionary study of a philodynamic nature on this variant.
Centaurus spreads less than Omicron 5
The results show that Centaurus has a lower ability to evolve and expand than the Omicron 5 variant (which is still the dominant variant). The study points out that, in light of current data, the Centaurus variant does not present worrying characteristics compatible with one that has high expansion capabilities. “The results of our study have a predictive value since in addition to allowing for the first time the identification of the moment when Centaurus reached its maximum expansion peak in the second half of June 2022, they also indicate that, in the current state of things , in the immediate future Centaurus will not be able to expand further », explains Pier Luigi Fiori of the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Sassari.
Investigation of 700 viral genomes
For the study, all genomes available in the public GSAID database, for the Centaurus variant and for the main lineage of the Omicron 5 variant, were analyzed at the time of the analyzes that were conducted about 20 days ago. In particular, 700 viral genomes were used which required about 1500 computational hours to complete the genetic analyzes.