Omicron BA.2.75 not more resistant to antibodies than the currently dominating BA.5 variant, study suggests
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Loading... - Michael Fortin
- 06 Sep 2022
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In a recent study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and others, have characterized the new omicron variant BA.2.75, comparing its ability to evade antibodies against current and previous variants. The study, published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, suggests that BA.2.75 is not more resistant to antibodies than the currently dominating BA.5, which is positive news.
In May 2022, a new variant of omicron, BA.2.75, was detected, which is driving a wave of infections in India, and has spread internationally. In the last few weeks, BA.2.75 has also been detected in Sweden.
Identifying how vulnerable the population is, right now, to emerging variants is crucial. By producing a pseudovirus for BA.2.75, we were able to test its sensitivity to antibodies present in blood donors."
Daniel Sheward, researcher at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, and study's first author
Tests were carried out using 40 random blood samples taken in Stockholm, both before and after the first omicron wave.
"Our study shows that omicron BA.2.75 has approximately the same level of resistance to antibodies as the dominant variant BA.5, which is reassuring news if we were to suffer a BA.2.75 wave in Sweden", says Ben Murrell, assistant professor at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, and the study's senior author. Read More…
