Explained: Process followed by WHO while naming latest COVID-19 variant 'Omicron'

The World Health Organisation (WHO), on Friday, said that it would classify the newly discovered B.1.1.529 SARS-Co2-mutation as a “Variant of Concern.” The classification implies that the new strain, which was first discovered in South Africa, could prove detrimental to the COVID epidemiology throughout the world. The latest strain was labelled with the Greek alphabet ‘Omicron’, notably skipping two letters ‘nu’ and ‘xi.’

"The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO from South Africa on [Nov. 24, 2021]. The epidemiological situation in South Africa has been characterized by three distinct peaks in reported cases, the latest of which was predominantly the delta variant," the WHO explained. 

How does the WHO name COVID variants?

The decision to name the coronavirus variant 'Omicron' was made at the suggestion of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution. According to the set protocol, the global health body is obliged to use the Greek alphabet to label new strains to make it “easier and more practical to be discussed by non-scientific audiences.” However, the existing nomenclature systems by GISAID, Nextstrain and Pango are still used by scientists for the purpose of other research.

As per WHO, “These labels were chosen after wide consultation and a review of many potential naming systems. It convened an expert group of partners from around the world to do so, including experts who are part of existing naming systems, nomenclature and virus taxonomic experts, researchers and national authorities.”

For instance, a SARS-CoV-2 that was first identified in the UK last December was given the moniker of ‘Alpha variant’ but its Pango lineage identifies it as ‘the B.1.1.7 variant’. Similarly, the latest Omicron variant could alternatively be identified as ‘B.1.1.529 strain.’

About Omicron-the latest mutation to be identified

Variant B.1.1.529 dubbed as Omicron by the WHO was first identified in South Africa after it spread among younger people in Gauteng. A routine sequencing conducted by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa monitored the strange changes in SARS-CoV-2 original genetic makeup, and eventually several South African laboratories observed a new virus lineage, B.1.1.529 of the novel coronavirus in some of the samples.

Image: AP