UK 'Stealth Omicron' cases double as new study suggests it is 33% more transmissible1 Feb 2022 12:24
Mirror Report:
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/uk-stealth-omicron-cases-double-as-new-study-suggests-it-is-33-more-transmissible/ar-AATmkEt?cvid=2fb95ab5d23f4edbae080f7f61f02525&ocid=winp1taskbar
UK cases of 'Stealth Omicron' have doubled in the last couple of days as a new study found the new Covid variant is 33% more transmissible.
The sub-variant of Omicron, called BA.2, is spreading fast according to latest UK genetic sequencing which identified 4,294 cases as of last Friday (Jan 28).
Known UK cases stood at 1,431 just four days earlier on Monday January 24 before the UK genomic database recorded 1,993 cases on January 26.
Previous estimates had expected a slower UK doubling rate of every five to six days.
It has been dubbed Stealth Omicron because it cannot be flagged up by standard PCR tests, meaning the real number of infections circulating is likely to be much higher.
A new study from Denmark - which is the epicentre for the new subvariant which has become dominant there - suggests it could soon take over from original Omicron, official name BA.1.
Analysis of infections in 8.500 Danish households between December and January found people infected with BA.2 were 33% more likely to infect others when compared to those infected with BA.1.
Lead study author Frederik Plesner, of Copenhagen University, said: “If you have been exposed to Omicron BA.2 in your household, you have 39% probability of being infected within seven days. If you instead had been exposed to BA.1, the probability is 29%.
“We conclude that Omicron BA.2 is inherently substantially more transmissible than BA.1, and that it also possesses immune-evasive properties that further reduce the protective effect of vaccination against infection.”
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