Dr Manal Mohammed, Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology, has written an article for The Conversation, titled ‘Another new COVID variant is spreading – here’s what we know about omicron BA.4.6’. The piece has also been translated to Japanese by The Conversation and has been republished in the West England Bylines.
In the article Dr Mohammed discusses what we know about the recently discovered omicron BA.4.6 so far and whether there is a reason for worry. According to the latest data by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), during the week beginning August 14, BA.4.6 accounted for 3.3% of samples in the UK, which has since grown to make up around 9% of sequenced cases.
Dr Mohammed states that BA.4.6 is a descendant of the BA.4 variant of omicron and could have emerged as a recombination of variants. While BA.4.6 is similar to BA.4, it carries a mutation to the spike protein, a protein on the surface of the virus which allows it to enter cells, helping the virus to avoid antibodies. Just like BA.4.6, omicron variants generally cause less serious symptoms but tend to be more transmissible and better at evading the immune system.
At the end of the article Dr Mohammed points out the importance of vaccination against emerging variants saying: “ The emergence of BA.4.6 and other new variants is concerning. It shows the virus is still very much with us, and is mutating to find new ways to overcome our immune response from vaccination and previous infections.”
Read the full article at The Conversation website in English or in Japanese, and on the West England Bylines website.
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