The central body INSACOG confirmed the presence of BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in India on Sunday, the first in Tamil Nadu and the second in Telangana. Both are sub variants of the fast-spreading Omicron variant that was responsible for the virus’s massive spread in the country earlier this year.
According to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, a joint body established by the Union government, a 19-year-old woman in Tamil Nadu was infected with the BA.4 variant. “The patient has only mild clinical symptoms and has been fully immunised.”
An 80-year-old man in Telangana tested positive for the BA.5 variant. This patient, too, had mild clinical symptoms and had received all of his vaccinations. According to INSACOG, he had no prior travel history.
The central health authority stated that contract tracing of BA.4 and BA.5 patients was being done as a precautionary measure.
