Scientists discover no cases of the ‘stealth Omicron’ variant in South Tyneside, according to latest figures

No cases of the coronavirus variant dubbed ‘stealth Omicron’ have been discovered in South Tyneside, according to scientists studying Covid infection samples.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Cases of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 have been in the UK for some time - the first example was found on December 6, 2021.

But numbers are growing both here and abroad, and the UK Health Security Agency named it a ‘variant under investigation’ on January 21.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
No cases of the "stealth Omicron" variant have been discovered in South Tyneside.No cases of the "stealth Omicron" variant have been discovered in South Tyneside.
No cases of the "stealth Omicron" variant have been discovered in South Tyneside.

Early analysis suggests it has a faster growth rate than the Omicron strain currently dominant in the UK, BA.1, but there is not enough evidence to say whether it causes more severe illness.

The Wellcome Sanger Institute analysed 38,000 positive Covid-19 tests taken in the week to January 15 to determine which variant they were.

It found one in 100 samples were now Stealth Omicron across England.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It analysed 162 tests from South Tyneside, successfully identifying a variant in 141 of them but BA.2 was found in no tests.

It is not known where Stealth Omicron originated, with the first cases found in the Philippines and high numbers being reported in Denmark.

It got its nickname because it does not exhibit a tell-tale marker on its spike protein, revealed through a common type of PCR test, which the authorities had previously used to monitor the spread of Omicron.

Dr Meera Chand, COVID-19 Incident Director at the UKHSA, said: “It is the nature of viruses to evolve and mutate, so it’s to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge as the pandemic goes on.

Read More
The 15 South Tyneside businesses awarded four and five star food hygiene ratings...
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to detect them and assess whether they are significant.

“So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than Omicron BA.1, but data is limited and UKHSA continues to investigate.”

Health secretary Sajid Javid said: “We are learning to live with this virus – and thanks to our world-leading surveillance system we can rapidly detect and carefully monitor any genetic changes to COVID-19.

“Our exceptional vaccine rollout means the number of people severely affected by COVID-19 is low, and the UK’s innovation and research has discovered life-saving treatments for those most at risk from COVID-19.”

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters.

Your support for our journalism means we can continue telling South Tyneside’s stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe - and click here to get a snapshot of the Gazette’s news and sport to your inbox through our email newsletters.

Related topics: