The Omicron strain has caused 82 per cent of recent Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh, while Delta variant made up 18 per cent of cases, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) said on Thursday.
BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Sharfuddin Ahmed said this while unveiling the research information based on genome sequencing results of Covid samples gathered in the last one month (January 9-February 9).
During the period, he said, three sub-variants of Omicron — BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 — were also detected in the samples while BA.2 is more contagious as per the World Health Organization.
The BSMMU said Omicron strain is now dominating the country although during the period between December 8 last year and January 8 this year, the strain made up 20 per cent of cases.
As many as 937 samples of Covid patients were collected to conduct the genome sequencing for the research purpose.
On December 9, 2021, Bangladesh first detected the Omicron variant of Covid-19, though the country detected its first Covid cases on March 8, 2020.
