SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant
Type of the virus first detected in November 2021 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021.[10][11] It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the predominant variant in circulation around the world.[12] Following the original B.1.1.529 variant, several subvariants of Omicron have emerged including: BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5.[13] Since October 2022, two subvariants of BA.5 called BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 have emerged.
Omicron | |
General details | |
---|---|
WHO Designation | Omicron |
Lineage | B.1.1.529 |
First detected | South Africa |
Date reported | 24 November 2021; 2 years ago (2021-11-24) |
Status | Variant of concern |
Symptoms | |
Asymptomatic infection,[1] body ache,[1] cough,[1] fainting,[2] fatigue,[3] fever, headache,[4] loss of smell or taste,[5][6] — less common nasal congestion or running nose[4] night sweats,[7] — unique Omicron symptom, upper respiratory tract infection[8] skin rash,[9] sneezing,[4] sore throat[2] | |
Major variants | |
Three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine provide protection against severe disease and hospitalisation caused by Omicron and its subvariants.[14][15][16][17] For three-dose vaccinated individuals, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are more infectious than previous subvariants but there is no evidence of greater sickness or severity.[13][18][19]