The omicron subtype BA.5 causes high numbers of infections. But what are the symptoms of the Corona variant? And what is the course of the disease?
Hamm – The 7-day incidence in Germany was recently at a very high level compared to the Corona summers of 2020 and 2021. The reason for the enormous number of infections is the omicron variant BA.5. How dangerous is the new subtype? An overview.
First, in May, the numbers in Portugal began to rise rapidly, where the new corona subtype was the first to really appear in Europe. Despite the high vaccination rate of 87 percent, the number of hospitalized patients and mortality related to Covid-19 also increased in Portugal. “The BA.5 variant of the virus will also spread to us. Many, including those who have been vaccinated, will become ill,” said the President of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery. He was right.
Omicron BA.5: Spread of the Corona variant is increasing worldwide
According to the Covid-19 weekly report of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) from June 30th, the BA.5 subvariant is predominant in Germany. The BA.2 subvariant, which had previously been dominant for months, continues to decline. However, researchers are concerned about the new BA.2.75 mutation.
Omicron BA.5: signs, symptoms and course of the corona variant
As with the other variants of Omikron, however, those vaccinated with BA.5 would fall ill much milder. The risk of dying is 99 percent lower in a vaccinated person than in an unvaccinated person. Nevertheless, Montgomery warns to prepare well for the fall and winter. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also keeps saying that stricter corona measures could be necessary in autumn.
Omikron BA.5 increases the number of corona infections in Germany
In Germany, the proportion of the omicron subtype BA.5 has been increasing since it first appeared in the statistics at the end of March. At the time, it accounted for less than 0.1 percent of infections. At the end of May, the share was already 10 percent. Two-thirds of corona infections can now be traced back to the omicron subvariant BA.5. For comparison: The variant BA.4 is around 7 percent.
According to the RKI, BA.5 is also responsible for the recent increase in incidence and hospital admissions.
Omikron BA.5: What are the symptoms? How is the progress?
Let’s look at the origin of the new Omikron variant: Just like BA.4, BA.5 does not descend from BA.1, BA.2 or BA.3. The new subtypes have their origins in the original variant of Omicron. According to experts, BA.4 and BA.5 have an additional mutation on the spike protein. This ensures a higher contagiousness, which the previous data shows.
But are the symptoms and course of an infection with the omicron subtype BA.5 different – and even worse? In the variants BA.1 and BA.2, the course of the disease is usually mild, especially in vaccinated people. Severe symptoms rarely occur. Infected people usually complain of headaches, runny noses and occasionally fever.
The most common symptoms of omicron variant BA.5 include:
- dry cough
- Sniffles
- Fever
A number of other symptoms are also possible, such as shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, muscle and joint pain, and a sore throat and headache. According to the RKI, however, the data so far do not suggest that infections with BA.4 or BA.5 cause more severe disease courses or proportionally more deaths than the sublines BA.1 and BA.2.
