Queensland has announced the discovery of the “first genetic variant in the world” of Omicron. Experts believe this is not a new strain and that more information is needed.
A new sublineage of Omicron was identified in an infection from a flight from South Africa to Queensland.
Two sublineages of the Omicron variant have different genes.
This announcement comes after Queensland health authorities identified a second positive case of the Omicron variant from Nigeria, as stated by Yvette D’Ath, the head of Queensland’s health department, on December 8, according to the Guardian.
“I would like to express my deep gratitude to the forensic and scientific services, as they have worked with the international committee to reclassify Omicron into two lineages, and we have recorded both lineages appearing in Queensland,” Ms. D’Ath said.
Professor Peter Collignon, an infectious disease expert and microbiologist at the Australian National University, stated that the two sublineages of the Omicron variant have different genes. He noted that the new sublineage is not a new variant.
“I don’t think we can call it a new variant; it is a subvariant. A new variant would have significant differences from other variants,” he said.
He suspects that this subvariant may be spreading across different regions of the world.
According to Queensland’s Acting Chief Health Officer Peter Aitken, the new Omicron sublineage in Queensland lacks the S gene. The “normal” Omicron has about 30 different gene mutations, while the new sublineage has approximately 14.
As Queensland prepares to open its borders to COVID-19 hotspots in the country, Mr. Aitken mentioned that the emergence of this Omicron sublineage serves as a reminder that the pandemic is not over.
“There will be new infections, which means we will have to consider wearing masks, contact tracing, and isolating close contacts of those who test positive for the virus,” he said.
Queensland is progressively reaching its goal of fully vaccinating 80% of its population, with 79.11% of eligible individuals over 16 years old having received two doses.
