A subtype of the COVID-19 variant is becoming predominant in Saskatchewan and is spreading throughout Western Canada, but health officials say it is not considered a variant of concern.
The AY.25.1 subtype probably originated in the mid-western United States where it mutated, said Dr Jessica Minion, a medical microbiologist with the Saskatchewan Health Authority who presented the information at a meeting of health authorities. last week.
In Saskatchewan, AY-25.1 and another subtype, AY.27, mainly replaced the original Delta variant. AY-25.1 is also spreading interprovincially in Alberta and British Columbia.
Western Canadian health officials say the subtype is not more contagious.
“There is no evidence that it causes more serious disease, that it escapes vaccine protection, that it is significantly different from the Delta variant that has circulated,” said Dr Deena Hinshaw, medical officer of health. Chief of Alberta, during a COVID-19 Debrief.
“When viruses replicate, they can change their genetics slightly, so sometimes you have these sublineages evolving. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they behave any differently from this parental strain, and that is the case with this particular subline.
Saskatchewan’s chief medical officer of health, Dr Saqib Shahab, said the public shouldn’t read the subtype too much.
“What we are seeing is something that all jurisdictions see,” Shahab said.
“If there are any worrying trends that emerge, we will report them to the public. “
Minion, who is a member of the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network, said the Delta variant has branched out into new evolutionary trees around the world, including the US, UK and Asia.
“These evolutionary trees, which are still Delta, we call them AY-various numbers,” Minion said.
“Having these different AY lines does not necessarily imply any biological differences when we determine that it is a new line. All we’re saying is that there are new, stable sequences in the viral code that have built up enough to make it noticeably different from what came before it.
Saskatchewan is monitoring the subline as required by international health regulations, but health officials reiterate that this is normal biology.
“Viruses do not stay static, especially COVID, which is presented with billions of opportunities to evolve and mutate daily,” Minion said.
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