Covid-19 in Bulgaria: Omicron variant found in 227 of 522 samples sequenced by NCIPD
Bulgaria’s National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD) said on January 18 that it has found the Omicron coronavirus strain in 227 out of 522 samples taken from Covid-19 patients in the country, with the rest identified as having the Delta strain or its sub-variants.
The samples had been taken over a period of time ranging from December 6 2021 to January 10 2022 and came from 21 out of Bulgaria’s 28 districts.
The Omicron strain, accounting for 43.5 per cent of the latest batch sequenced by NCIPD, was found in samples taken from 18 districts, compared to nine districts in the previous announcement made by NCIPD on January 10.
Among the patients with the Omicron strain, 194 were undergoing treatment at home, seven were in hospital and 24 had recovered, with two individuals identified as being in quarantine, as of January 4-17, the NCIPD statement said.
Of the 295 patients with the Delta strain or its subvariants, 193 were undergoing home treatment, 48 were in hospital, 43 had recovered and 11 had died, as of January 4-17.
NCIPD said that 34 out of 295 cases showed the Delta strain of the virus, collectively designated B.1.617.2 by the World Health Organisation.
The other cases were attributed to separate individual lineages of that variant, with the most numerous being AY.4 (58), AY.43 (50), AY.9.2 (31) and AY.4.2 (22). Twenty-four other subvariants accounted for the remaining 100 samples sequenced by NCIPD.
The largest number of samples, including both the Omicron and Delta strains, came from the city of Sofia (169), followed by the districts of Bourgas (64), Plovdiv (54), Rousse (49), Varna and Pleven (33 each).
(Photo: Military Medical Academy)
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