No sign yet of sub-variants

Two new Omicron sub-variants, BA.4 and BA.5, still have not been detected in Thailand, Ramathibodi Hospital’s Centre for Medical Genomics (CMG) says.

The centre wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday that it was aware of World Health Organization (WHO) concerns over the new Omicron sub-variants which could be more transmittable and cause more severe symptoms.

It said the WHO is now monitoring six Omicron sub-variants: BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5.

BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants have a genetic code close to BA.2, with only approximately two additional mutations from BA.2: L452R, corresponding to Delta and Lambda, and F486V, which was rarely seen in previous variants. The coronavirus has constantly mutated but this occurs only on certain genetic codes, according to the CMG.

In the case of the BA.2 sub-variant, which accounts for 94% of infections globally, it is…