Covid-19 strains spur fears

Sub-variants ‘have spread from Europe’

The government is monitoring two new Omicron subvariants in Europe as Thailand prepares for an influx of international arrivals from next month when entry rules are eased further.

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said yesterday Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha instructed the Public Health Ministry to monitor the Covid-19 situation in Europe after cases of the two subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — were detected in countries such as Portugal, the UK, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Germany.

State agencies have also been instructed to plan ahead to deal with the expected surge in foreign arrivals after the Thailand Pass registration requirement is revoked on July 1, the spokesman said.

Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences (DMSC), said people should not jump to conclusions about the new subvariants, to avoid causing public panic.

The subvariants were already on the radar of the DMSC which is studying them to learn more about their characteristics, he said.

“Initially, we have found they can evade immunity better than previous strains. Most new mutations are often able to escape immunity,” he said.

Dr Supakist said health authorities have collected samples of the subvariants, though it may take up to five weeks to determine how they differ from previous strains.

If anyone is suspected of having either of the new subvariants and is admitted to hospital, samples will be taken and sent to the DMSC for examination as part of the probe, Dr Supakit said.

The permanent secretary for the Public Health Ministry, Kiattiphum Wongrajit, said yesterday the number of new cases of Covid-19 and seriously ill patients has stabilised and started to decline.

Most new cases are in Bangkok, nearby provinces and major provinces, Dr Kiattiphum said, adding most deaths were still among members of the socalled “608 group” who did not receive booster shots.

The group comprises people aged 60 years and older, those with underlying diseases and pregnant women.

He stressed the need for people to receive booster shots to prevent the worst effects of the virus.

Dr Kiattiphum said 139.3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered.

Of those, 81.8% were first shots, 76.2% second doses, and 42.3% third or booster shots — still below the target of 60%, he said.

According to the Centre for Medical Genomics at Ramathibodi Hospital, Thailand has recorded 49 new cases of the two new Omicron subvariants, which are considered more contagious.

Wasun Chantratita, who heads the centre, previously said 26 cases of BA.5, 23 cases of BA.4 and 18 cases of BA.2.12.1 had been detected in the kingdom since April.

He cited data from Gisaid, the global data science initiative, to back up his remarks.

Dr Wasun said the figure was based on random tests so the true number of infections could be considerably higher.

The patients were admitted to hospital and their condition was described as manageable.

“Omicron is not the last variant of Covid-19,” he said. Dr Wasun added most of the patients infected with the subvariants had come from overseas.

What should you know about the two new Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus? The Centre for Medical Genomics at Ramathibodi Hospital says the number of patients found to have been infected by the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron is rising in Thailand.

So far it has detected 49 cases of these two sub-variants, which may be able to circumvent antibodies produced by past infections or vaccination and could trigger a new wave of Covid-19.

These two sub-variants are responsible for a more-than 80% rise in hospitalisations of new Covid-19 infections in Europe.

That has underlined the need for Thailand to closely monitor how the presence of these new sub-lineages of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 will affect the outbreak situation in the country. It comes amid plans to declare Covid-19 an endemic disease and lift more Covid-19 restrictions.

What are BA.4 and BA.5?

Prof Emeritus Wasun Chantratita, head of the Centre for Medical Genomics at Ramathibodi Hospital, said BA.4 and BA.5 are found to have up to 80 and 90 mutations respectively when compared with the first variant of the coronavirus that caused the first outbreak in Wuhan.

“These dramatic mutations come with the risk they will be more capable of evading immunity and trigger a new pandemic. However, whether they will cause severe disease remains to be seen through studies,” he said.

Over 80% of newly infected patients in Portugal have needed hospitalisation, while the number of patient hospitalisations in South Africa has surged by 50% due to BA.4 and BA.5 infections, he said. Elsewhere in Europe, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Denmark have now shared a similar rise in number of new Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalisation, he said.

How concerned should we be?

These strains are able to replicate well in the lungs of patients, unlike BA.1 and BA.21, the previous sub-variants of Omicron, which replicate their cells well only in the upper part of the respiratory system. In their case the risk of lung infections was considerably lower, he said.

Under the circumstances, certain European countries, particularly Portugal, have raised their Covid-19 alert, while the European disease-control body has announced that BA.4 and BA.5 require special surveillance, he said. The World Health Organisation (WHO), however, has yet to declare BA.4 and BA.5 a variant of concern.

What is the actual situation here?

Twenty-six cases of BA.5 and 23 cases of BA.4 have been detected in a random check conducted on new Covid-19 infections, which means the actual number of infections with BA.5 and BA.4 could be much higher, he said. These cases are believed to be imported ones, he said.

The number of patients infected with either BA.4 and BA.5 who suffered severe symptoms of infection remains rather low at the moment, based on the number of patients requiring hospitalisation, whch has increased only slightly, he said.

Close surveillance, however, is needed to keep track of how the two new sub-variants evolve, as these are still early days, he said.

Globally, BA.5 and BA.4 infections account for 17% and 8% respectively of all new cases, he said.

What about the risk of a new wave of Covid-19 in Thailand?

It’s difficult to predict as this is a new disease and clear information must wait studies, he said.

As the WHO has said previously, Omicron won’t be the last of Covid. His advice for fending off BA.4 and BA.5 is to avoid crowded areas, wear a face mask when necessary and get booster shots of the Covid19 vaccine.