B a two was first detected in south africa, which played an important part in the origin of b a one. The most likely place of origin would be a single individual living in close quarters. In denmark, its now the dominant strain and will eventually take over from whatever else is circulating.
Late in November, the World Health Organization designated the Covid variant B.1.1.529, with its many mutations, as a variant of concern. Dubbed Omicron, within weeks it had rapidly spread across the globe and become the dominant variant. But not far behind has been its even more transmissible cousin, BA.2. Initially taking off in Denmark and India, BA.2 is now making headway in several countries around the world, including the US and UK. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Nick Loman about how worried we should be about BA.2, and what we still need to learn about this new subvariant. Help support our independent journalism at
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