The British authorities say that the new mutation is under study, noting that it may spread on a larger scale, and they named it “PE.2”.
The first sequences of the new impostor were detected in the Philippines and sent to the “GISAID” platform, which is an open space for virus genes.
Most of the samples sent from the sub-mutant were from Denmark, and India reported 530 samples of this mutant, followed by Sweden with 181 cases and Singapore with 127 cases.
The World Health Organization says it classifies Omicron as a mutant of concern, and makes no distinction between it and the subspecies.
However, the subspecies is still closely monitored by scientists, to determine whether its appearance could affect the outbreak of the Corona epidemic.
And it is in the nature of viruses to change and mutate, so it is expected that new ones will appear as the epidemic continues, said Mira Chand, an official at Britain’s Health Security Agency.
“So far, there is not enough evidence to determine whether the sub-strain causes a more severe infection than Omicron, but the data is limited,” she added, noting that the agency was continuing to investigate the matter, according to “Reuters”.
For his part, Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, wrote on Twitter: “Initial observations from India and Denmark show that there are no significant differences in severity between Omicron and the subspecies.”
Peacock added that the Omicron subspecies should not question the efficacy of current vaccines.
