Covid-19: understand the dangers of new subvariants of omycron BA.4 and BA.5

Since the beginning of the epidemic Covid-19We are witnessing the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus, one after another. For the virus, each infected person is a new laboratory in which it mutates, and each can become more dangerous.

Now, two new sub-variants of omikron worrying experts on the planet. Research shows that BA.4 and BA.5 It’s more contagious than anything we’ve ever seen. Learn a little more about them.

The last variant considered risky by the World Health Organization was omicron. Its first strain, BA.1, underwent several mutations that created subvariants – that is, newer versions that still bear some similarities.

BA.4 and BA.5 part of the second generation of these strains, mostly associated with the BA.2 subvariant. Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers in the United States, Bette Korber and William Fischer, who discovered the new mutations, claim mutual diagnoses between them.

According to the scientists, the actual number of cases of the new subvariables may be underestimated. “It’s important to get these connections right at this special moment in the pandemic,” Korber and Fischer told Nature.

Are BA.4 and BA.5 strains more contagious?

The identification of these strains comes against the backdrop of the increasing global numbers infected by the pandemic. But so far, the newcomers have caused fewer deaths and hospitalizations than their previous versions, demonstrating positive effects of population vaccination.

Knowing the profile of infections is important because it helps health authorities design appropriate action plans for each case. Each new subvariable brings its own innovations and we must adapt to them.

Couple BA.4 and BA.5in particular, it has a greater ability to infect patients who were previously immune to Omicron or other strains. Therefore, it is also possible that from now on each country will begin to have the prevalence of different pathogens.

Even populations from nearby countries may have different immunological capacity, as different measures are taken both in the implementation of quarantines and in the adoption of vaccines to combat the pandemic.

For example, its prevalence in Switzerland BA.5 is greater than that BA.4. There, researchers estimate the infection could reach 15% of the population. But they point out that this number could vary from 5% to 30% elsewhere.

What changes with new species?

The effects of new mutations should also be different. There was a small increase in the number of cases in South Africa, where it was discovered, which was already high there. However, mortality and hospitalization rates were lower than in previous waves.

In Portugal, these levels were comparable to the first wave of Ômicron. This can be attributed to factors such as the average age of the population. There are more senior citizens who are generally vulnerable to illness in Europe.

Several studies have also shown that the new subvariants are more resistant to antibodies produced by vaccinated individuals. The same goes for those who have immunity from previous infections.

This is an effect of mutations suffered by BA.2 strains. Here comes the theory of evolution, which determines the success of the most adaptable organisms. As it spreads through the population, the strain mutates in every possible way.

However, in an increasingly vaccinated population, mutations progress that only allow the virus to escape the effects of vaccines. And so subvariables appear, for example BA.4 and BA.5triggers a milder immune response in patients.

But evolution has no side in this race, and it can play in our favour. The trend towards the future Covid-19 increases as our bodies learn to deal with different strains and subvariables.

This is even more true with the help of immunization technology. Creating a vaccine is a powerful way to fight the virus and circumvent any variant with a worrying vaccine leak.

It seems that in the future, SARS-CoV-2 will become one of the other coronaviruses circulating the world in seasonal epidemics. But until then, we cannot ignore the problem.

long-term symptoms such as long covidare still poorly understood by the medical community and we don’t know what they can bring us. That’s why the mask on the face and the vaccine on the arm should be our ally for a long time in this fight.