ZAGREB, 31 January, 2022 - Five samples tested in Croatia have turned out to be positive for the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the Croatian Institute of Public Health confirmed on Monday.
This subvariant has been confirmed in 40 countries, including neighbouring Slovenia.
British scientists have been monitoring it after it was detected in more than 400 cases in the United Kingdom in the first ten days of January.
International data suggests that the BA.2 subvariant might be spreading faster that the Omicron variant, while no differences in severity have been observed.
"Very early observations from India and Denmark suggest there is no dramatic difference in severity compared to BA.1. This data should become more solid (one way or another) in the coming weeks," Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, said on his Twitter account earlier this month.
He said that the new subvariant was not expected to diminish the effectiveness of the existing COVID-19 vaccines.
