Highlights in the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention chief virology expert Dong Xiaoping introduced at the st press conference on the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council on the 13th that the BF.7 sub-branch is actually the abbreviation of BA.5.2.1.7, and is a derivative branch of the Omickron BA.5 variant strain. Since the BF.7 evolutionary branch was continuously detected in September, it has gradually become a common strain in many countries, with its global share increasing from about 3.5% in late September to about 11% last week.
is similar to some other Omickron evolutionary branches such as BA.2 and BA.5 when they first appeared. The BF.7 sub-branch has shown strong transmission capabilities. Whether it can become the next dominant epidemic strain worldwide needs further observation. The evolutionary branch of BF.7 has not shown any significant changes in pathogenicity.
Dong Xiaoping introduced that virus mutation is a very common natural law, reflecting the reaction of viruses as small and simple microorganisms to external pressure, which is more fully manifested in the new coronavirus. Although the new coronavirus has only appeared for more than two years, its mutation rate has significantly accelerated when there are a large number of naturally infected people and a larger number of vaccinated people. The study found that since the emergence of Omickron in 2022, the virus's mutation rate has increased significantly, which is a natural phenomenon.
