What Is BA.2, the So-Called ‘Stealth Omicron’ Variant?
last week that “currently, there are insufficient data to determine whether the BA.2 lineage is more transmissible or has a fitness advantage over the BA.1 lineage.”
But what is BA.2, what are its symptoms, and how transmissible is it? Infectious disease experts break it down.Omicron has branched into three lineages, explains Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York: BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. Because BA.1 has spread the most rapidly around the world, it’s gotten the most attention, Dr. Russo says—but BA.2 is starting to gain steam, too. says it has some differences from BA.
As for the “stealth Omicron” nickname, experts say it’s not exactly accurate. BA.1, aka the Omicron that people have largely been tracking, is missing one of three target genes that are used in a standard PCR test, Dr. Russo explains. So, when doctors look at testing results, they’ve usually been able to see that someone is infected with the Omicron variant just by spotting the absence of that particular target gene.
But BA.2 doesn’t have the particular mutation on the spike protein that makes that particular target gene fail on a PCR test. Some people started calling it “stealth Omicron” as a result, even though PCR tests would still come up positive for COVID-19 and show all three target genes like they did before Omicron surfaced. FWIW, it’s a controversial nickname that not everyone is into. “Stop calling it stealth Omicron,” says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D.
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