How dangerous are the BA.2.74 and BA.2.75 sub-variants of Omicron?
Tom Peacock, a virologist in the division of infectious diseases, Imperial College London, also said the spike protein in BA.2.75 contained a number of key mutations, notably in terms of the virus’s ability to replicate and its ability to infect geographical regions.
According to renowned virologist Jesse Bloom from Fred Hutch, sequencing analysis of the BA.2.75 gene showed that it contained 17 more nucleotide mutations than its previous BA.2 ancestor, and two more affected receptors: G446S and Q493R in spike proteins.
Previous studies have shown that the G446S mutation is one of the most effective sites for viruses to evade the immune system.
The emergence of the G446S mutation makes the sub-variant of BA.2 resistant to the neutralization of anti-infective immunity.
Meanwhile, Q493R helps the virus attach to ace2 receptors in the respiratory tract to infect people with COVID-19.
While genetic testing and sequencing samples are still relatively few, BA.2.75 has attracted the attention of the scientific community because of its genetic mutations as well as the virus’s ability to replicate.
Therefore, effective control, BA.2.75 tracing as well as further research on this sub-variant is required.
Genetic changes to the more sophisticated virus may also appear in the subsequent evolution of the virus that causes COVID-19.
