UGM Genetics Working Group: 7 Cases Of Variant BA.2 'Son Of Omicron' Detected In DIY

PHOTO ILLUSTRA TION BY VOI

YOGYAKARTA - The Genetic Working Group of the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FKKMK) detected as many as seven cases of the Omicron BA.2 subvariance which is often dubbed the "Son of Omicron" in the Special Region of Yogyakarta.

Head of the UGM Genetics Working Group, Dr. Gunadi, said that BA.2 was detected based on the results of "Whole Genome Squencing (WGS)" at the UGM FKKMK Laboratory in early February 2022.

"BA.2 is already in DIY based on the 'running' in early February 2022," said Gunadi, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, March 23.

Gunadi explained that of the 47 samples examined at the Laboratory of FKKMK UGM, 39 of them were positive for Omicron and 8 samples were positive for the Delta variant.

After further investigation, according to Gunadi, of the 39 samples that were confirmed positive for Omicron, seven of them are known to be subvariants of Omicron BA.2 and 32 are BA.1 which is the original form of Omicron.

The BA.2 variant, also dubbed the Omicron stealth, said Gunadi, has the ability to transmit faster than BA.1.

However, he has not been able to detail the identity of the person whose samples were confirmed positive for Omicron at the UGM FKKMK Laboratory, both BA.1 and BA.2. "It must be checked one by one," said Gunadi.

Previously, Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that around 252 cases of BA.2, which is a variant of the COVID-19 mutation from Omicron, were detected in Indonesia based on observations of the number of cases until February 2022.

Nadia said the BA.2 variant has the characteristics of being more rapidly transmitted, including increasing the severity of exposed patients. However, this variant has certainly not dominated in Indonesia.