The Omiron variant gives birth to many “pups”, which is not necessarily bad news.
Discovered in October 2021, the Omicron variant has established itself almost everywhere in the world since. And in its progression, many sub-lineages were born and circulate with more or less intensity depending on the country. In New York, two viruses belonging to the BA.2 sublineage of the Omicron variant circulate very widely while BA.4 and BA.5 were discovered in South Africa. The Omicron family therefore produces many young, among which the most robust are part of the BA.2 sub-lineage. But how to explain this phenomenon? “It’s quite normal, the reverse would even be extraordinary, assure le virologue Steven Van Gucht. U n virus is like time, it never stops, it evolves all the time. A strain mutates and evolves into different sub-lineages, that was expected.”
Designated as a variant of concern by the WHO, Omicron spreads significantly faster than other variants. When a virus is actively circulating and causing a lot of infections, the likelihood that it will mutate increases.
