Roohani J, Keikha M. Global challenge with the SARS-CoV-2 omicron BA.2 (B.1.1.529.2) subvariant: Should we be concerned? World J Virol 2022; 11(6): 496-501 [PMID: 36483099 DOI: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i6.496]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Masoud Keikha, Doctor, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. masoud.keykha90@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Virol. Nov 25, 2022; 11(6): 496-501 Published online Nov 25, 2022. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i6.496
Global challenge with the SARS-CoV-2 omicron BA.2 (B.1.1.529.2) subvariant: Should we be concerned?
Jalil Roohani, Masoud Keikha
Jalil Roohani, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad 13131-99137, Iran
Masoud Keikha, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
Author contributions: Rouhani J and Keikha M wrote and edited the draft; Keikha M contributed to the study design and data collection; and all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Masoud Keikha, Doctor, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. masoud.keykha90@gmail.com
Received: May 19, 2022 Peer-review started: May 19, 2022 First decision: August 22, 2022 Revised: August 23, 2022 Accepted: October 4, 2022 Article in press: Octobe 4, 2022 Published online: November 25, 2022
Abstract
BA.2 is a novel omicron offshoot of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has gone viral. There is limited knowledge regarding this variant of concern. Current evidence suggests that this variant is more contagious but less severe than previous SARS-CoV-2 variants. However, there is concern regarding the virus mutations that could influence pathogenicity, transmissibility, and immune evasion.
Core Tip: BA.2 is novel omicron offshoot that goes viral. There is limit knowledge regarding this variant of concern. Current evidence suggested this variant is more contagious but less severe than previous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 previous variants. However, there is concern regarding the virus mutations that could be influenced pathogenicity, transmissibility as well as immune evasion.
