A new Covid Omicron sub-variant has been detected in the UK as scientists are concerned it could spread faster than the current dominant strains.
The strain, dubbed 'Centaurus' but officially named BA.2.75, was first detected in India in May and has now been found in nine further countries.
The strain is currently being considered a “variant under monitoring” by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
As well as the rate of spread, there are concerns around the reinfection rate of the new sub-variant. Epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett told Daily Mail Australia : "The more sub-variants we have, the greater the risk of re-infection. Everyone is game."
It comes as Public Health Scotland's latest Covid-19 report saw cases coronavirus decrease by 9.5 percent in the week ending 10 July 2022, however hospitalisations were up 15 percent compared to the week prior.
For those who are concerned about the new sub-variant, here is everything you need to know about the Covid-19 'Centaurus' strain.
What is 'Centaurus'?
The BA.2.75 variant of the Omicron Covid-19 virus is a relatively new strain that experts are concerned about due to its large number of mutations. Experts say it is a reminder that Covid-19 is still able to evolve and spread.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Shishi Luo, head of infectious diseases for Helix, a company that supplies viral sequencing information to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said: “We would like to return to pre-pandemic life, but we still need to be careful,”. She added: “ We need to accept that we’re now living with a higher level of risk than we used to.”
How severe is the 'Centaurus' variant?
So far there has been no indication that the new BA.2.75 sub-variant is more severe than the current dominant strains in the UK. Experts say that it is important to closely monitor the new variant to better understand its potential severity.
This comes as WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic still qualifies as a global emergency and he was “concerned” about the recent worldwide spike Just last week, on 12 July. In a briefing the WHO added "surveillance has reduced significantly – including testing and sequencing – making it increasingly difficult to assess the impact of variants on transmission."
How fast-spreading is the 'Centaurus' strain?
There are concerns about how fast this strain could spread, according to Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who warned: "But it does look like, especially in India, the rates of transmission are showing kind of that exponential increase."
The 'Centaurus' strain has been detected in 10 countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Japan, Australia, Canada and the US as well as India. According to Ulrich Elling, expert in genetics and Covid-19 testing and sequencing at the Austrian Academy of Sciences the absolute data points are few, meaning more research is required to determine how fast the Ba2.75 variant spreads.
What are the symptoms of the 'Centaurus' variant?
So far now new symptoms have been associated with the Centaurus strain. According to Scotland's NHS Inform, the current Covid-19 symptoms are as follows:
- continuous cough
- high temperature, fever or chills
- loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
- shortness of breath
- unexplained tiredness, lack of energy
- muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise
- not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry
- headache that's unusual or longer lasting than usual
- sore throat, stuffy or runny nose
- diarrhoea
- feeling sick or being sick
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