Africa Knowledge Management Portal
Informing health decisions and actions
Communique on the Sudden Increase in COVID-19 Cases driven by the Omicron BF.7 Variants
Response
Description
Situation Summary COVID-19 infections in Africa continue to be dominated by the SARS-COV-2 Omicron Variant. Since its emergence, Omicron has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants. One subvariant, BF.7 also known as BA.5.2.1.7, has recently been identified as the main variant spreading in Beijing, driving the current surge of COVID-19 infections in China. The variant is currently being monitored by the health authorities in other regions. BF.7 has been detected in several other countries around the world including India, the U.S., the UK and several European countries such as Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark. In Africa, the BF.7 variant was detected in 67 samples collected between 03 May – 14 October 2022 from Algeria, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritius, Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa.