BA.5 was first detected in South Africa in February this year, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) report on June 22, BA.5 has spread to 62 countries around the world.
According to the World Health Organization's report on June 29, in the 24th epidemiological week (June 13-19), the spread of BA.5 also caused the global epidemic that had just escaped the shadow of BA.2 to rebound again.
Under the influence of BA.5/BA.4, from June 20 to June 26, the number of new cases worldwide reached 4.1 million, a growth rate similar to that of the previous week (June 13-19). ) increased by 18%, the highest value since April. Among them, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Americas is more serious.
According to the data of the US CDC, as of June 25, the proportion of BA.5 has reached 36.6%, which is close to the proportion of BA.2.12.1 (42%), and will soon become the main strain of the epidemic in the United States.
As of June 27, BA.5 accounted for 55%, 59%, and 66% in the UK, Germany, and France, respectively.
The number of confirmed cases in Germany began to rise in early May, and the number of new cases in a single day is now close to 90,000, 3.2 times the previous minimum (May 6).
On July 4, the number of new cases in Singapore in a single day (7-day average) reached 8,500, a 2.65-fold increase from the beginning of June.
Singapore's Minister of Health said on July 5 that the number of patients infected with BA.4/BA.5 doubled weekly, initially accounting for only 3% of new cases; it increased to 30% at the end of June, and on July 4, this was A proportion has reached 50%. He predicts that by next week, BA.4/BA.5 will become the main strain in Singapore, and the proportion of patients will reach 70 to 80%.
According to a research report released by the Institute of Medical Research of the University of Tokyo, Japan, compared with Omicron BA.2, BA.5 has a higher effective reproduction number (Rt value), that is, during the infection period, the average number of people a patient can infect More.
It can also be known from the research of South African scholars, BA.4/5 has a growth advantage relative to BA.2, and its basic reproduction number (R0) may reach 18.6, which is 5.6 times that of the original strain, 3.65 times that of Delta, and Omicron. 1.96 times of BA.1 and 1.39 times of BA.2.
The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) has listed BA.5 as a ‘mutant strain of concern’ and called on countries to be vigilant against it. Although BA.5 may not cause severe disease, it will still affect hospitals and hospitals. Nursing wards are burdened. At the same time, ECDC also emphasized that increasing the vaccination rate and promoting the vaccination of the third booster can still achieve a certain protective effect.
As of July 7, research evidence has shown that the new branch BA.5 of the Omicron variant has invaded the lungs and has a strong immune escape ability.
In response to the latest epidemic analysis reports from the World Health Organization and various countries, Lysun biotechnology immediately carried out biological analysis and viral protein tests, proving that Hangzhou Lysun Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test series products can effectively detect the BA.4 and BA.5 mutant strains of the new corona virus.
BA.4 and BA.5 share the same mutation profile in the spike gene. The main mutations of Omicron mainly happened in the S-protein region alone .
The variant BA.4 and BA.5 didn't affect the normal rate of Lysun COVID-19 antigen Rapid Test Devic（colloidal Gold) Certified by Clinical Performance Evaluation Report from Uniwesyteckie Centrum Kliniczne in May 2022, Specially in the clinic purpose of evaluation on Omicron and Delta. The results proved that the above major Sars-Cov-2 variants can be detected by Lysun COVID-19 antigen Rapid Test Device（colloidal Gold).
Lysun Bio will continue to pay attention to the development of the latest mutant strains of the new crown epidemic, and ensure that the new crown antigen rapid detection reagents produced and sold by our company can be effective against all major mutant strains, improving the detection rate and detection efficiency.