ideSHi has identified two SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineage which have been detected in patients from Dhaka city between August to September, 2022. These two include BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1 (also designated as BJ1). These were first identified in India in May 2022. At present, BA.2.75 is the most dominant subvariant in India while BJ1 has also been detected.
These variants have been identified from the ongoing COVID-19 genomics projects being carried out ideSHi in collaboration with other institutes. In the past few days of COVID-19 testing, the collaborative project has identified five BA.2.75 and four BJ1 from Covid19 patients. The first BA.2.75 sub-variant was identified from a 41-year-aged male with a history of recent travel to India in early August. On the other hand, the first BJ1 sub-variant was identified from a 48-year-aged female, a healthcare worker who has no travel history. These new sub-variants of Omicron possess more mutations in the spike gene compared to the parent Omicron variant and have been found to be the most immune-evasive strain tested so far in the laboratory. Scientists globally are tracking BA.2.75 very closely, which has gone on to replace BA.4 and BA.5, making BA.2.75 more transmissible than them. Close monitoring of BJ1 is also ongoing.
