WHO: BA.5 omicron subvariant will continue to rise in prevalence

It is expected that BA.5 will continue to rise in prevalence causing waves of infection in various countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) told Report.

BA.5 was first detected in January 2022 and remained at low levels of prevalence.

"Since May 2022, prevalence has begun to rise. The proportion of BA.5 sequences reported has been rising globally since April 2022. During the week of 12-18 June, the proportion of BA.5 globally was 43%. As of 1 July, BA.5 has been detected in over 70 countries," the organization said.

According to it, higher transmissibility of BA.5 is due to higher intrinsic growth rate and additional immune escape characteristics

"We expect a wave of infections driven by spread of BA.4/BA.5, but their impact on severity has been limited in countries that have already experienced such wave. In general, WHO’s ability to track this virus and advise countries on the best response is threatened by a lack of sequence data," the organization said.