New Omicron sub variant detected in the country

Scientists at Jashore University of Science and Technology's Genome Center have detected a sub-type of Omicron variant, named BA 2.75, for the first time in the country, which, they believe, can cause a fresh rise in transmission.

They detected the sub-variant on three Covid-19 patients after sequencing their samples recently.

The announcement came at a time when the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has been reporting higher positivity rates in a row since Sunday.

Yesterday, the positivity rate was 6.94 percent -- up from 6.71 percent the previous day. On Sunday, the positivity rate was 4.93 percent while 6.68 percent on Monday.

All the Covid-19 patients infected with the new sub-variant of Omicron were male. One was aged 55 years while two other 82, according to a press release from the university.

One of the patients has been undergoing treatment at a hospital while two others at home.

All of them had Covid-19 symptoms including fever, sore throat, cold and cough.

"This subvariant can escape the human immune system. So, there is no alternative to maintaining health rules including wearing masks," said Prof Anwar Hossain, vice chancellor of the university who also heads the Genome Center.

First detected in India in July this year, the World Health Organization has already warned that the sub-variant has higher transmissibility.

"Being close to the Indian border, we had also detected the highest fatal Delta variant last year. This detection has a significance that the sub-variant may cause another spike in the country, we think," Prof Iqbal Kabir Jahid, associate director at the university Genome Center, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Arifa Akram, assistant professor of the virology department at the National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Center, however, said that it can be attributed to the latest increasing trend in transmission.

"We will need genome sequence data on different samples collected from Dhaka and several other parts to know the reason behind the spike."

Yesterday, the DGHS reported 282 new cases of Covid-19 while no Covid-19 patient died in the meantime.

So far, a total of 29,329 Covid-19 patients have died in the country since the first death was reported on March 18 in 2020.