Coronavirus: Your body ache and fatigue could be signs of new rising Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75

After the Omicron variant BA.5 wave, researchers are worried about what lies next. New Omicron subvariant BA.2.75 — nicknamed ‘Centaurus’ by some on social media — is rising fast in India.

However, the rise in infections and hospitalisations is not yet alarming, so experts believe it is still too early to determine if this subvariant could be a major threat or not.

According to Delhi's LNJP hospital, Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75 has been detected in the majority of samples taken from COVID patients in Delhi.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the BA.2.75 Omicron variant as a 'variant of concern lineage under monitoring'. Symptoms of this relatively new variant have been found to be quite similar to those of previous other Omicron sub variants. Some common ones include body ache, fatigue, and low-grade fever. The symptoms usually last for five days, the UN body added.

According to experts, elderly and those with co-morbidities are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms.

Researchers in India have sequenced more than 1,000 samples of the Omicron variant since May. The data suggest that about two-thirds of the new cases are currently caused by BA.2.75, says Shahid Jameel, a virologist at the University of Oxford, UK.

Tom Wenseleers, an evolutionary biologist at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, notes that the variant seems to have a “quite sizable” transmission advantage over BA.5 in India. “This would definitely cause an infection wave,” he says.

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Omicron BA.2.75 strain has been spotted in several states in India and is spreading fast. Along with India, this subvariant is also detected in other countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. Even though the symptoms are mostly mild, this sub-lineage is a matter of global concern.

Dr. Suresh Kumar of LNJP Hospital, Delhi, shared that this new sub-variant has more transmissibility and can even infect even those with antibodies. “This new sub-variant also attacks people already having antibodies and also those who have taken the COVID vaccines in their body,” Dr. Kumar told news agency ANI.

However, this does not mean that getting vaccinated against COVID is pointless because even if you get a breakthrough infection, immunisation from vaccination and/or previous infection can help to prevent any severe infection. So, you may get infected but the cause for worry will be less due to milder symptoms and stronger immunity.

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Apart from fatigue and body/muscle pain, here are some of the most common symptoms for Omicron and its sub-variants:

• Runny nose
• Cough with phlegm
• Hoarse voice
• Sneezing
• Dizziness
• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Diarrhoea

India recorded a big dip in COVID-19 cases in the week ending Sunday. Both fresh cases and deaths registered their sharpest weekly decreases in percentage terms at least in the last four months.

According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday, with 5,910 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,44,62,445, while the active cases declined to 53,974.

The death count rose to 5,28,007 with 16 fatalities, including seven deaths reconciled by Kerala. The health ministry updated that the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.69 per cent.