Ministry Of Health Can't Confirm How Fast BA.2.75 Spreads In Indonesia

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Health has not concluded the rate of transmission of the Omicron BA.2.75 subvariant which has infected three Indonesian citizens since last week.

"Until now, there is no visible pattern of how fast it increases compared to BA.4 and BA.5", said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin during the launch of the BioColoMelt-Dx molecular diagnostic kit at Darmais Hospital, Jakarta, Tuesday, July 19 afternoon.

The Ministry of Health is still researching the ability of BA.2.75 which currently shows an increasing trend of cases in India.

Last week, he said, BA.2.75 or known to some health science experts as the Centaurus variant was detected in Indonesia, two cases were in Jakarta and one was detected in Bali.

Separately, YARSI University Postgraduate Director, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said BA.2.75 was first reported from India in early June 2022 and has now spread to at least 15 countries, including Germany, England, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, Australia, and Singapore.

"In India, which we know as the country that first reported the Delta BA.2.75 variant, it spread quite quickly", he said.

Experts from the Mayo Clinic stated that the increase in cases in India due to BA.2.75 is exponential, although we still have to wait for other data in the coming weeks.

"The Vice Dean for Research at Arkansas State University is also worried about the spread of BA.2.75 in India, which according to him is now faster than BA.5 there", he said.

According to him, experts also predict BA.2.75 will also spread quite quickly in the UK and the United States. Initially only in one state, now there are seven American states, namely California, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

"Indeed, so far there is no certainty about the pattern of transmission and the severity of the impact of BA.2.75", he said.

The emergence of BA.2.75 in Indonesia, said Tjandra, shows that the COVID-19 pandemic is still in the community, while various developments can occur, including the existence of new variants or subvariants.

"Of course, there is no need to panic, but it is clear that we need to be vigilant and get valid scientific data so that the handling in the field can run properly", he said.