01 July 2022 : Editorial
Editorial: World Health Organization (WHO) Variants of Concern Lineages Under Monitoring (VOC-LUM) in Response to the Global Spread of Lineages and Sublineages of Omicron, or B.1.1.529, SARS-CoV-2
Dinah V. Parums1CDEF*DOI: 10.12659/MSM.937676
Med Sci Monit 2022; 28:e937676
Table 1 The five (Pango) lineages of the B.1.1.529 or Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 include BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5.
OMICRON LINEAGE | GEOGRAPHIC REGION OF FIRST DETECTION | DATE FIRST DETECTED | DATE OF DESIGNATION | WHO STATUS |
---|---|---|---|---|
B.1.1.529 | SOUTH AFRICA | 24 NOVEMBER 2021 | DESIGNATED AS A VOC ON 26 NOV 2021 | VOC |
BA.1* | SOUTH AFRICA | JANUARY 2022 | RE-DESIGNATED AS A VOC ON 22 FEB 2022 | VOC |
BA.2* | SOUTH AFRICA | JANUARY 2022 | RE-DESIGNATED AS A VOC ON 22 FEB 2022 | VOC |
BA.3 | SOUTH AFRICA | JANUARY 2022 | NON-DESIGNATED – DETECTED WORLDWIDE BUT WITH FEW CASES | NON-DESIGNATED |
BA.4* | SOUTH AFRICA | JANUARY 2022 | DESIGNATED AS A VOC-LUM ON 7 JUNE 2022 | VOC-LUM |
BA.5* | SOUTH AFRICA | JANUARY 2022 | DESIGNATED AS A VOC-LUM ON 7 JUNE 2022 | VOC-LUM |
* The WHO recommends that these descendant lineages of B.1.1.529 should be monitored as distinct lineages by public health authorities with comparative assessments of their viral characteristics. VOC-LUM – variant of concern lineage under monitoring. |