New Version of Omicron COVID-19 Variant Recently Detected; 'Stealth' Variant May Be Harder to Track

Scientists have identified a "stealth" version of the Omicron COVID-19 variant that experts believe is harder to track because of its genetic characteristics. This new lineage is called the Omicron BA.2 detected seven times more than the original version, Omicron BA.1, across Australia, Canada, and South Africa.

Countries have recently increased the deployment of PCR tests to gain a quick picture of its transmission worldwide. In the United Kingdom, experts have detected that the Omicron variant increased from 101 to 437 in just one day, and Scotland has recently announced returning the work from home setup.

Omicron BA.2 Lineage Spreading Across the World

The Guardian reported that the new version of the Omicron variant is said to have many mutations like the first version of the B.1.1.529 variant, but it does not have the S-gene dropout mutation like the original version that making it challenging to track using PCR tests. Throughout the pandemic, PCR tests were used as a rough and ready means of detecting probable cases of COVID-19.

But scientists noted that the Omicron BA.2 can still be detected using other tests and is identified as simply the Omicron variant through genomic testing. Still, probable cases of the new version are not detected by PCR tests that are expected to give quicker results than genetic testing.

Moreover, they said it is still early to tell whether the new form also spread the same way as the older version of the Omicron variant. But given the stealthy version's genetic composition, they expect it will also behave differently.

The Omicron BA.2 was first spotted in Australia, Canada, and South Africa, but experts claim it might have already spread more widely than just the three countries.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 Omicron Variant Infection: Epidemiology Explains Why, How Wastewater Becomes a Source of the Virus

Scientists Claim There's No Reason to Be Scared With New Version of the Omicron Yet

Clinician and computational biologist Vinod Scaria from the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology said in a recent tweet that the new version of the Omicron variant is there is nothing to be scared of the new version yet despite the genetic changes that make it harder to track.

Structural biology professor David Stuart from Oxford University agreed with Scaria and was quoted by the Financial Times saying, "I don't think there's any reason to think that the new outlier is any more of a threat than the form of Omicron that's knocking around at the moment in the UK." But he also noted that it is still too early to conclude anything.

PCR Tests Should Still Be Able to Detect the New Version

Evolutionary biologist Andrew Rambaut from the University of Edinburgh posted in a blog post that the Omicron BA.2 variant has many defining mutations of the original Omicron, most notably the missing S gene that scientists were looking to track Omicron.

PCR tests check for the S gene to check if someone is infected with the novel coronavirus, Science Alert reported. But the seven cases of the new version of the Omicron variant showed that it dropped the S-gene. Despite making it harder to track, scientists said that a more time-consuming and less widespread sequencing would be used to identify it.

That means there may be more Omicron variant cases than scientists thought. Therefore, PCR tests should still work to detect whether someone has the virus even with this new version.