The World Health Organization has reported the detection of a subvariant of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, known as "BA.2," across Africa, and that countries should monitor additional coronavirus samples to track its spread.
Bloomberg News reported that virologist Nixey Gumedie Mwelitsi from the WHO stated during a conference call on Thursday that the variant has so far been found in Senegal in West Africa, Kenya in the East, and Malawi, Botswana, and South Africa in the southern part of the continent.
She expressed concern, saying, "We are somewhat worried that we may have missed detecting some of the (BA.2) variant in some samples we examined previously."
The subvariant "BA.2" raises concerns among scientists, as studies suggest it appears to be more transmissible than the original Omicron strain, which was first identified in South Africa and Botswana in November.
