BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2022) The first case of new Omicron BA.4 subvariant of COVID-19 was detected in the French-speaking part of Belgium, the Le Vif magazine reported, citing virologists from a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven.
The BA.4 variant, already detected in several countries, was recorded in Belgium, and subjected to clinical studies in Free University of Brussels, KU Leuven virologists Marc Van Ranst and Piet Maes said, as cited in the report.
"Viruses accumulate mutations as they always do. New variants will appear," Van Ranst said, as quoted by the Belgian magazine.
Emergence of new Omicron variants is better than appearance of a new strain, the researcher added.
The report said that the BA.5 subvariant had not been detected in Belgium.
Botswana, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, and South Africa have already recorded the new Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants, and they did not cause any significant increase in infections, hospitalization, or deaths so far.
Medical practitioners distinguish three different lineages arising from mutations of various COVID-19 strains, such as XD, XE, and XF. The XD and XF lineages are a compound of Delta and Omicron BA.1 subline variants, while the XE line is a compound of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants.
