The mainland found the first case of simultaneous infection with two mutant strains of Omicron | Cross-strait

The mainland has discovered the first case of simultaneous infection with two Omicron new coronavirus mutant strains.

Chongqing. Unsplash image

According to the latest weekly report released by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on February 14, relevant cases were detected in samples collected and submitted for inspection at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. On December 23, 2022, a patient in Chongqing reported poor appetite, fatigue and cough on December 29, and tested positive for new crown infection. By January 4, 2023, the patient developed symptoms such as fever and cough. From January 6 to February 12, 8 nucleic acid tests were positive.

Website picture of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University

The researchers collected upper respiratory samples from the patients on Jan. 28 and Feb. 7, named YB20230158 and YB20230202, respectively, which form a separate clade from the Omicron subvariants BA.5.2.48 and BF.7.14. Analysis of mutation sites showed that both samples contained specific definition sites of Omicron subvariants BA.5.2.48 and BF.7.14, indicating that the patient was co-infected with Omicron subvariants BA.5.2.48 and BF.7.14, It is the first case of its kind in China.

BA.5.2.48 and BF.7.14 are also the two mainstream virus strains in Chongqing.

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Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially in immunocompromised key populations, is becoming increasingly important as the risk of variants co-circulating in an area increases, the researchers caution .

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