INSACOG-attached labs have discovered two new Covid-19 mutants, BA.2.10 and BA.2.12, related to the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 in Bengaluru, according to a report in The New Indian Express.
The transmissibility of the sub-lineages is yet to be ascertained as the data set is too meagre, sources told the paper. “As per GISAID data, we have found BA.2.10 and BA.2.12, both sublineages of BA.2, in a few samples from Bengaluru. However, we need more samples and data to know more about this mutation. It is an alias of B.1.1.529.2.10, the lineage from Pango designation issue #496,” explained a scientist attached to the lab.
Special Commissioner BBMP (Health) Dr K V Thrilok Chandra said he had no knowledge of new mutations, but added that authorities have ramped up surveillance in the city. In 198 wards of the city, sewage surveillance will be conducted, so as to not miss any new variant. Bengaluru Urban has been clocking more than 300 cases in the last 7 days, and the district has 1,428 active Covid cases.
Authorities are ramping up testing as well given the potential rise in Covid-19 cases. Randeep D, Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare, told the publication, “We are being vigilant and will increase testing soon. As of now, though Karnataka still has a Test Positivity Rate of below 1 per cent, Bengaluru on some days reached 1 per cent, but that has not been consistent too.”
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