Nearly a month after sewage surveillance in Bengaluru showed the presence of possible BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages of Omicron in some samples, the Indian SARS-CoV -2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) confirmed it on Tuesday.
According to INSACOG’s June 21 report, 44 samples sent for genome sequencing between June 2 and June 9 have been found to be infected with Omicron’s BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5 sub-lineages.
However, Omicron’s BA.2 continues to be the dominant strain in Karnataka so far. Of the 1,964 samples sequenced in May-June this year, 89.4% are found to be infected with Omicron BA.2.