BREAKING! Surge In COVID-19 Hospitalizations In Japan, China, South Korea Are Driven By BA.5 Sublineages Including BF.7 And Co-Infections Not EG5.1!
COVID-19 News - BA.5 sub-lineages Jul 26, 2023 1 year, 4 months, 1 week, 3 days, 22 minutes ago
BA.5 sub-lineages like BA.5.2, BA.5.2.1, BA.5.2.6, BF.7.15 and BF.7.4.1 are causing the rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations not the XBB variants or EG.5.2
COVID-19 News: Contrary to misconceptions that perhaps some new XBB sublineages such as EG.5.1 etc could be driving disease severity and also COVID-19 hospitalizations in Japan, China and South Korea, the actual SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineages causing the crisis are actually some of the newer BA.5 sub-lineages that were causing issues in early part of the year the year and are back again along some of their newer spawns.
While the XBB sub-lineages including the EG.5.1 are more transmissible and more immune evasive, they do not exhibit any changes increased virulence or pathogenicity.
However, it is being noted that the co-infections with two or three sub-lineages are also rising in these countries and in many cases XBB sub-lineages along with the BA.5 variants often resulting in increased risk of disease severity and also increased risk of mortality.
Data from some of the platforms like CoV-spectrum or some independent variant trackers in the U.S. etc are no longer reliable either due to small amounts of genomic sequencings being done, bias behaviors by the variant hunters themselves or maybe some are just too engrossed in getting media coverages, publishing studies or collaborating with other members of the WHN to get our twitter account suspended that they have lost focus on their works! (PS: twitter or any social media sites are not important for us as our 5 year old site is well known!)
Updated data from Japan for instance shows that BA.5 variants like BA.5.2, BA.5.2.1, BA.5.2.6, BF.7.15 and BF.7.4.1 etc are in circulation and in many cases are the actual sub-lineages causing the rise in hospitalizations.
https://twitter.com/SuzanneK23/status/1683356080896897024
https://www.htmlcommentbox.com/storage/lg_16390015_variant.png ( Data Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Research Institute for Frontier Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine.)
Data coming out from South Korea and China to be published soon are also indicating that the various BA.5 sub-lineages are actually driving the COVID-19 hospitalizations along with co-infection.
Thailand Medical News had warned months back that the BA.5 variants would make a strong comeback!
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-variant-hunters-say-that-the-ba-5-sub-lineages-are-receding,-being-replaced-by-ba-2-sub-lineages-and-various-recombinants-we-say-no
The BA.5 variants are more pathogenic as they target the lower respiratory tract and have enhanced tropism for lung cells and are also more neuropathogenic. We had warned about this early in the year via numerous
hailandmedical.news/">COVID-19 News report but was again scoffed by many Western ‘experts.’
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-xbb-1-5-is-not-as-worrisome-as-compared-to-china-s-unique-bf-7-and-ba-5-2-sub-lineages-that-are-driving-hospitalizations-and-deaths
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-xbb-1-5-variant-which-is-more-transmissible-and-spreading-fast-will-not-wreak-much-havoc-as-compared-to-new-bf-and-ba-5-2-sublineages
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-new-sars-cov-2-variants-in-china-bf-7-14-and-ba-5-2-48-found-to-driving-pneumonia-and-ards-but-fake-virologist-claiming-they-are-mild
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-researchers-concerned-about-new-ba-5-2-1-with-mutations-in-the-orf9b-in-japan-may-be-driving-disease-severity-and-deaths
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/sars-cov-2-research-analysis-of-gibbs-energy-potential-in-newly-emerged-ba-5-2-and-bf-7-sub-lineages-in-china-suggest-that-they-are-more-infective
New studies published have validated that the BA.5 variant and its sub-lineages are more pathogenic especially due to the mutation H69Δ/V70Δ (deletion) that makes it better at targeting lung cells and also is more fusogenic.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39147-4
More worryingly, the BA.5 sub-lineages have been found to be more neurovirulent.
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-university-of-queensland-study-shockingly-finds-that-ba-5-sub-lineages-are-more-neurovirulent-that-earlier-omicron-variants
We covered quiet extensively how the various BA.5 sub-lineages were driving hospitalizations and deaths in Japan and China in the earlier wave this year.
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-china-s-bf-7-14-spawns-new-bf-7-14-1-sublineage--newer-more-immune-evasive-ba-5-sublineages-will-lead-the-next-reinfection-onslaughts
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-news-researchers-concerned-about-new-ba-5-2-1-with-mutations-in-the-orf9b-in-japan-may-be-driving-disease-severity-and-deaths
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-east-asian-variants-bf-7-14,-bf-7-15,-bf-5-2,-ba-5-2-48,-ba-5-2-49--ba-5-2-50-continue-to-wreak-havoc-in-china-and-japan-deaths-rising
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-stupids-saying-that-china-variants-have-been-circulating-before-bf-7-14,-ba-5-2-48,-ba-5-2-49-are-new,-past-exposure-to-ba-5-will-not-he
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-new-ba-5-sublineages-continue-to-emerge-globally-as-virus-evolves-rapidly--new-dy-1-variant-emerges-in-china-ba-5-2-48-with-sa570s
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-besides-bf-7-with-c1243f-mutation,-other-new-concerning-sublineages-from-ba-2-3-20-and-ba-5-2-with-new-mutations-identified-in-china
While everyone is engrossed in the XBB sub-lineages and also the XBB.1.16 and the EG.1 and EG.5.1 sub-lineages with bias reporting, the newer BA.5 sub-lineages are spreading around the world and is also evolving.
Also possible recombination events of the BA.5 sub-lineages with the XBB sub-lineages will lead to the emergence of newer recombinant variants possessing the H69Δ/V70Δ deletion that will lead to a more worrisome strain! (Already I am spotting some random sequences of XBB sub-lineages and EG.5.2 sequences with that deletion..its only a matter of the time that the right ones emerge with the right viral fitness!)
Its is these newer sub-lineages and potential BA.5 and XBB recombinants that will lead disease severity for the coming Fall and Winter!
Also note, there will no longer be COVID-19 surges, waves or wavelets etc..rather there will be constant onslaught of COVID-19 lead by constant prevalence of various SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineages of which about 85 to 92% will only cause asymptomatic or mild infections initially while damaging your bodies slowly while the other 8% will drive disease severity. (This mix can change.)
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is now hyperendemic..the virus is literally everywhere and its not seasonal or coming in waves..the problem is that lack of testing and strategies by governments not to let the masses know the truth is making people have the fallacy that COVID-19 is over. In reality, people are getting exposed everday and everywhere..they just do not know especially when its asymptomatic or when its mild..some assume its some common respiratory infection or some stomach bug! But off course the virus is till wreaking havoc on their bodies and its only when more pathogenic variants become more predominant in the circulation mix like in Japan and China that because of hospitalizations, we are made to think that new surge is taking place!
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is now well adapted for airborne transmissions over long distances via wind. It is transmissible by water supplies, food, animals etc and has evolved to withstand all environmental factors ie temperature, humidity, exposure to UV light, extreme pH conditions etc.
Excess deaths are still climbing everyday and will increase substantially over time as the effects of exposure to the virus (or exposure to the spike proteins via the jabs) become more apparent!
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-study-from-netherlands-shows-that-ba-4-ba-5-variants-and-sub-lineages-are-more-immune-evasive-than-ba-2-and-its-sub-lineages
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-news-japanese-study-finds-that-bq-1-1-variant-has-enhanced-binding-affinity-to-human-ace2-receptor-and-greater-fusogenicity-than-ba-5
COMING UP! BA.5 arose from a recombinant zoonotic event!