Two ‘Stealth Omicron’ cases detected in Chittagong
Researchers claim that this new variant is not harmful
REUTERS
Pimple Barua, Chittagong
Publish : 21 Jan 2022, 10:24 PMUpdate : 22 Jan 2022, 10:37 AM
Two people have been infected with “BA2” or “Stealth Omicron” for the first time in Chittagong.
The results of the sample analysis, which were collected between December 25 and the first week of January, were released on Thursday in the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), a global database of genome sequences.
Dr HM Hamidullah Mehedi, medicine consultant and physician of the Covid Unit of Chittagong General Hospital, and Dr Adnan Mannan, of Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Chittagong University, confirmed the matter on Friday.
According to the researchers, from November 1 to December 25, the genome sequence of the samples collected from 80-year-olds to newborns showed that all the infections were of the Delta variant.
However, after December 25, eight Omicron patients were identified after taking samples of 11 people from Chittagong General Hospital and Maa-O-Shishu Hospital in the city.
Two of them were infected with the virus's most recent variant BA2 or Stealth Omicron which has been found in Texas and Houston, India, Oman, and China since early January.
However, researchers claim that this new variant is not particularly harmful.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's total tally of Omicron cases reached 64 with the detection of nine more cases till Thursday, according to GISAID.
Dr HM Hamidullah said that no conclusions can be drawn based on the study as very few patients are infected with Omicron in Chittagong. “A few hundred more genome sequences will give you a better scene of this variant's personality.”
According to the study, 90% of Omicron patients reported the most symptoms of sore throat and distorted voice tone. Some patients also experienced headaches, fever and pain in various places of their bodies.
The participants in the study were all over the age of 21. There have been no reports of Omega-3 infections in children or adolescents.
Two ‘Stealth Omicron’ cases detected in Chittagong
Researchers claim that this new variant is not harmful
Two people have been infected with “BA2” or “Stealth Omicron” for the first time in Chittagong.
The results of the sample analysis, which were collected between December 25 and the first week of January, were released on Thursday in the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), a global database of genome sequences.
Dr HM Hamidullah Mehedi, medicine consultant and physician of the Covid Unit of Chittagong General Hospital, and Dr Adnan Mannan, of Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Chittagong University, confirmed the matter on Friday.
According to the researchers, from November 1 to December 25, the genome sequence of the samples collected from 80-year-olds to newborns showed that all the infections were of the Delta variant.
However, after December 25, eight Omicron patients were identified after taking samples of 11 people from Chittagong General Hospital and Maa-O-Shishu Hospital in the city.
Also read - UK designates Omicron sub-lineage a variant under investigation
Two of them were infected with the virus's most recent variant BA2 or Stealth Omicron which has been found in Texas and Houston, India, Oman, and China since early January.
However, researchers claim that this new variant is not particularly harmful.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's total tally of Omicron cases reached 64 with the detection of nine more cases till Thursday, according to GISAID.
Dr HM Hamidullah said that no conclusions can be drawn based on the study as very few patients are infected with Omicron in Chittagong. “A few hundred more genome sequences will give you a better scene of this variant's personality.”
According to the study, 90% of Omicron patients reported the most symptoms of sore throat and distorted voice tone. Some patients also experienced headaches, fever and pain in various places of their bodies.
The participants in the study were all over the age of 21. There have been no reports of Omega-3 infections in children or adolescents.