Two cases were sequenced as part of the regular samples that the labs send to AGES. However, it is assumed that there are several infections with the new subvariant. In recent weeks, BA.2.75 was mainly observed in India.
mutations
Preliminary research suggests that BA.2.75 is more easily transmissible than the other BA.2 subvariants. On 7 July 2022, WHO therefore classified BA.2.75 as a variant under concern. However, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that so far there have been too few samples to assess the danger.
BA.2.75, a subvariant of BA.2, has eleven new mutations, eight of them in the spike protein. In comparison: The BA.5 variant. has three mutations in the spike protein, these three alone allowed it to prevail over BA.2 more easily. These changes may facilitate reinfections: “The eleven mutations in which BA.5 and BA.2.75 differ may allow for another wave, as the immunity of BA.2 and BA.5 may not be protective,” says molecular biologist Ulrich Elling in interview with SWR.