Health worker in the laboratory. File photoBRUSSELS, Apr 12The first case of infection with a new variant of the omicron BA.4 coronavirus strain has been identified in Belgium, according to Le Vif, citing virologists at the Catholic University of Leuven. According to virologists Mark Van Ranst and Pied Maesa, a new variant already discovered in some other countries, was identified in the French-speaking part of Belgium and studied at the Free University of Brussels (ULB). «Viruses accumulate mutations, they always do. New variants will still appear,» the publication quotes Van Ranst. The virologist noted that the emergence of new variants of «omicron» is better than the emergence of a new strain. According to the publication, variants of «omicron» BA.4 and BA.5 have already been found in Botswana, Germany, Denmark, the UK and South Africa, where they did not lead to a significant increase in the number of infections, hospitalizations or deaths. According to the publication, the BA.5 variant has not yet been found in Belgium. fdb8dc3f5e5f.jpg» />The first case of infection with a new strain of coronavirus was detected in Japan
