Maharashtra reported its first cases of the Covid-19 infection with BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the Omicron strain on Saturday. The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the Omicron strain were found in at least 7 cases from Pune.According to the state health department's report on whole genomic sequencing, out of 7 cases from Pune, 4 patients were found with BA.4 variants and the other 3 had BA.5 variants.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) earlier confirmed cases with BA.4 and BA.5 variants in Tamil Nadu and Telangana . Notably, India's first possible case of the BA.4 variant was detected in Hyderabad earlier this month.These sub-lineages of Omicron were found in some parts of the world, including South Africa, in April. Last week, such cases were reported in Tamil Nadu and Telangana.“The whole genome sequencing was conducted by the Institute of Science Education and Research, and its finding has been confirmed by the Indian Biological Data Centre in Faridabad. As many as seven patients, all from Pune, were detected with the infection of the sub-lineage of Omicron,” a health department official told PTI.