Israel’s Health Ministry detects new Covid variant at airport
Israel's Health Ministry says it will continue to monitor the situation
Israel’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that it detected two instances of a previously unknown Covid variant while testing new arrivals at the Ben Gurion International Airport.
The newly discovered strain is believed to be a combination of the BA.1 omicron variant and the BA.2 offshoot, the ministry said.
The two cases were detected during routine PCR testing of passengers entering Israel at the airport, and the patients are said to only be suffering from mild symptoms - including headaches, muscle pain and fevers.
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Those infected with the strain did not require additional medical attention, the ministry said, adding that it will continue to monitor the situation.
The patients’ tests were sequenced by the Shamir Medical Center, and the hospital later released more information on the new strain.
“Analysis of the data revealed a unique genetic signature that combines mutations originating in the BA.1 strain and... the BA.2 strain,” the hospital’s spokesperson said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“The data was immediately transmitted to the Health Ministry and Central Virus Laboratory for verification.”
Though much remains unknown on the variant, new Covid strains are regularly detected, and experts say the discovery is unlikely to be a cause for alarm unless it displays certain concerning characteristics.
“Every two to three weeks there is a new variant,” Prof. Dror Mevorach of the Hadassah Medical Center explained on Twitter.
“As long as it does not make up a significant part of new infections, it will not be defined as a variant of concern and has little significance.”