Disease detectors are tracking the spread of new, highly contagious versions of the omicron variant in New York State and Europe, the latest evidence of the coronavirus’s ability to revise its genetic profile and pose a new threat. It’s too early to predict how far the new variants could spread and how much people will get sick, said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “When you look at what is happening right now and try to tell the story of what can happen, you face a challenge,” he said. For now, scientists are “watching and learning,” Osterholm added. The first communities in the United States to declare war on new Omicron variants are located in central New York, around Syracuse and Lake Ontario. New York State officials announced this week that two new Omicron variants, called BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1, have become the dominant forms of the coronavirus in the central part of the state. For weeks, infection rates in downtown New York were at least twice the state average, according to the State Department of Health. New subcategories of omicron in New York have identified mutations that can help the virus enter cells faster and prevent vaccine- and immune-boosted immunity, said Andy Pekosz, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Whenever we see these mutations, we are a little worried, but it is difficult at the moment to really assess how much concern these variants will be,” Pekosz said. Government officials said the secondary variables were spreading 23 to 27 percent faster than the original BA.2 omicron variant, and that the secondary variables were helping to increase the number of cases. “The Department’s findings are the first reported case of significant community outbreak due to new subtypes in the United States,” New York State health officials said in a press release Wednesday. “At present, there is no evidence of increased severity of the disease from these sub-variants, although the Department is closely monitoring any changes.” In March, the two variants accounted for more than 70 percent of the covid-19 reported cases in central New York. So far in April, the figures show an increase to 90%. of all new cases. “This may change as more data becomes available,” said Samantha Fuld, a spokeswoman for the New York Department of Health. “The department is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to communicate openly with New Yorkers.” Fuld said officials were expanding a coronavirus sewage monitoring program “to cover all counties and include the sequence for covid-19 variant analysis.” Infections in downtown New York are approaching the levels observed last year during last year’s delta wave. Oswego County had the highest reported infection rate in the state since Wednesday: 69.8 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days. Neighboring Onondaga had the third highest rate in the state, at 53.3 per 100,000. In a statement Wednesday, Onondaga County Health Commissioner Indu Gupta said the variants were “more contagious than covid omicron” and that county hospitalizations were on the rise, though officials said they hoped to avoid the peaks reported. during previous coronavirus waves using testing, coverage, vaccination, community approach and other tools. “I am here to remind everyone that the pandemic is still here, that people may be tired. I got tired too. “But the virus is not tired,” said Gupta. “I think it is important to remember that he continues to change his shape, he changes his style. It just challenges us and we really have to respond to its challenge. “ Onondaga County Executive Director Ryan McMahon said officials claimed the minor variations arrived from travelers in February. “Finding contacts that gave us a better road map has not happened,” McMahon said, adding that traveler theory probably reflected “concentrated cases” in the same complex of cities. He predicted that the new variants would not be confined to downtown New York for long. “The reality is that what is happening in our community is starting to happen across New York and the Northeast,” McMahon said Wednesday. “And in two or three weeks, it will be a real challenge for some of these other communities. New York County and New York City are 45 cases per 100,000 on average for seven days. “We are 52. This is a much bigger challenge for a community of this size.” Pekosz, Hopkins’s virologist, said some of the increase in cases is to be expected because the variations occur at the same time that most public health interventions, such as mask commands, have been removed. “We need to see some increase in cases,” Pekosz said. “What we hope for is that this will now be a manageable increase.” At the moment, the public does not need to worry too much about the new underlines, Pekosz added, although scientists are watching them closely. Researchers will have a better idea of ​​whether the new variants are actually more contagious and potentially more dangerous in the coming weeks. “Omicron is evolving to perhaps be even better at infecting humans – the big question is how much better will it get?” said Pekosz. “This is something we have to wait and see.” Another sub-variant, called omicron XE, has referred to the United Kingdom and some other nations, including Israel and Thailand. XE is a recombinant variant, meaning it combines genetic material from two versions of omicron, BA.1 and BA.2. An XE infection has been reported in Hawaii, amid a handful of cases reported in the United States since Friday. “The recombinant Omicron XE series, originally identified in the UK, was recently identified in the State of Hawaii and contains genetic material derived from BA.1 and BA.2,” according to a report released Wednesday by the State Department. health. As of April 5, the British authorities had received reports of 1,125 XE cases, representing less than 1 per cent of cases in that country. Early, vague data suggest that XE is spreading 12 to 21 percent faster than BA.2, according to a report last week by the UK Health Insurance Agency. The Japanese Ministry of Health announced on Monday that the first case of XE in this country was detected in a 30-year-old woman who arrived at Tokyo Narita International Airport from the United States on March 26. The ministry said the woman, whose nationality was not disclosed, was asymptomatic, according to the Japan Times. Officers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are awaiting the emergence of new generations of the virus, and the agency will monitor how these variants change case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths. “While the prevalence of lineages and secondary generations may fluctuate, what we are focusing on is monitoring for any changes in the disease burden caused by Omicron genealogies,” Nicolas Spinelli, a CDC spokesman, told email. . The CDC stressed that the same tools that helped slow the spread of previous variants are likely to do so continue to be useful to young people. Osterholm, of the University of Minnesota, said that scientists still do not understand why so many variations of the micron have emerged in recent months. To prepare for a possible explosion triggered by a new subvariable, scientists must closely monitor case numbers, hospitalizations and other indicators. However, reduced testing capacity across the United States could slow public health responses to any highly contagious variants, Osterholm said, and hospitalization numbers would be an indicator of delays, weeks behind rising case numbers. “Now we need to know, more than ever, what is going on out there,” Osterholm said. “Meanwhile, it is becoming more and more difficult to do the tests.”