Nicola Sturgeon has announced a new covid variant which may be "more transmissible" than omicron has been detected in Scotland.
The First Minister confirmed the research into the BA.2 strain, a sub-type of omicron, saying it "does appear to have the ability to out-run the main Omicron variant, which may indicate that it is more transmissible".
However, she stressed there was no evidence that it causes more severe disease than omicron.
Speaking to MSPs at the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said: "The sub-type of omicron - known as BA.2 - was recently designated as a variant under investigation.
"As members will recall, with the main omicron variant, what is called the S Gene is absent in PCR tests.
"However, in BA.2 cases the S Gene shows up. In the last week, the proportion of PCR tests with an S Gene dropout - which indicates the main omicron variant - has declined, with a corresponding increase in the proportion of tests showing S Gene positive results .
"This could be accounted for by Delta cases which also show positive S Gene results. However, it may also indicate increasing transmission of the BA.2 sub variant. Genomic sequencing is being used to investigate this further."
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Speaking to MSPs at the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon announced 26 cases of the BA.2 strain, but warned the figure would be an underestimate.
She continued: "So far, I can confirm that in Scotland 26 cases of BA.2 have been confirmed through genomic sequencing - but we expect this number to increase as more sequencing results are reported. And given that not all tests are genomically sequenced, it will be an underestimate of the presence of this sub variant here.
"It is important to stress that, at this stage, there is no evidence that BA.2 causes more severe disease than the main omicron variant .
"Nor, at this stage, is there any evidence that BA.2 has any greater ability to escape the immunity conferred by vaccines or previous infection. However, BA.2 does appear to have the ability to out-run the main omicron variant, which may indicate that it is more transmissible .
"Investigations into this are ongoing, both in the UK and in other countries, such as Denmark, where the sub-variant has been circulating for longer.
"At the moment, therefore, the BA.2 variant is not a cause for any alarm or change in approach , but it does warrant further study."
