Another new and dangerous strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Which recently caused the COVID-19 disease, has emerged.It was claimed that the new variant.Which was detected for the first time in South Africa and named by the World Health Organization (WHO) Omicron, spread even faster than the Delta variant.
Thereupon, some countries, including Greece, applied a travel ban to countries where the variant was seen.While WHO criticized this decision on the grounds that "there is insufficient scientific data about the variant".
- what are the main features of Omicron?
- Is it more dangerous than previous variants?
- Most importantly, are our vaccines also effective against this variant?
The authors of the science journals Nature and New Scientist compiled what is known so far about Omicron and explored the effect of vaccines against this variant.Here are the highlights of the two articles:
When was the Omicron first time detected?
The Omicron first time detected in South Africa on 23 November using samples taken between 14 to 16 November.South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on November 25 that he believes the variant detected was the cause of the rapidly increasing number of cases in the country at the time.The same day, the UK Health Safety Agency (HSA) announced that the variant was under review, leading to a ban on travel to the;
- UK from South Africa
- Botswan
- Lesetho
- Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
- Zimbabwe
- Namibia
What's going on in South Africa?
In South Africa, the number of cases increased from 274 on November 11 to a thousand in two weeks.The rate of increase is quite high, but if you remember that 50 thousand cases were seen in the UK on November 26.The number of new cases per day is quite low.More than 80 percent of cases in South Africa occur in the country's Gauteng province.It was determined that a new variant caused all of the 77 cases whose genes were sequenced between 17-20 November in the province.It was determined that the reproduction rate of the variant.
Which is mostly seen among young people, was almost 2.The national average of this rate is approximately 1.5.
How is Omicron different to COVID-19?
According to Sharon Peacock of the University of Cambridge in England, the virus has "extremely unusual mutations".There are more than 30 mutations in which the virus interacts with human cells.Other mutations can cause the virus to bypass the immune system and make it more contagious and less responsive to treatments.These have not been scientifically proven yet.What the mutations mean is still theoretical and is based more on previous mutations of SARS-CoV-2 than on laboratory experiments.
Is Omicron spreading faster day by day?
Mutations of the Omicron variant show features similar to those of the Alpha and Delta variants, and this may cause the variant to spread more easily.Professor at Imperial College London Wendy Barclay.He said it's possible that Omicron is biologically more infectious than Delta variants.
The mutations also suggest that the new variant may be more resistant to antibody therapy.Prof. Barclay says this is extremely worrying.
Where has Omicron spread?
Genome sequencing revealed that the variant was found in;
- South Africa
- Botswana
- Hong Kong
In Belgium, it was reported that cases that were understood to be caused by a person who had traveled to Egypt a while ago were identified.British Health Minister Sajid Javid said on the news of the case that the variant is likely to spread to other countries.
As of 27 November, two cases have been detected in the UK.Early warnings may come even in countries where genome sequencing is scarce, because the variant
Can Omicron get ahead of the Delta variant as well?
There is no evidence that Omicron is transmitting any faster, but the rapid increase in South Africa may indicate this.The first examples of the variant failed to take hold as it could not compete with other variants in some countries.Instance Beta variant also failed to take hold in the UK.The alpha variant is common in Europe but never reached high levels in South Africa.If Omicron turns out to be no more contagious than Delta, that would be really good news.
Are the developed vaccines ineffective against Omicron?
Scientists are keeping a close eye on the variant's spread in South Africa and else where to reveal the extent of the threat posed by B.1.1.529 (Omicron).
Experiments on the variant's antibodies and other immune system responses that prevent infection have begun.The first indications are that there are some mutations in the proteins found in the spines of the variant and which are now recognized by the antibodies.Computer models show that B.1.1.529 has clues that the immune system can circumvent the immunity provided by T-cells.
However, these also need to be tested in the laboratory.Results are expected by mid-December.
Professor of virus evolution at Oxford University.Aris Katzourakis, “Does it reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine because it has so many changes?”.He says the question is very important.Experiments will determine whether the variant reduces the effectiveness of the vaccines.South Africa is the place where the variant was first detected and ;
- Johnson&Johnson
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Oxford-AstraZeneca
According to the news, two people who were found to have the variant on their arrival in Hong Kong after their trip to South Africa were found to have the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
How to take personal action against Omicron?
The usual measures such as social distance, hand washing, wearing a mask, vaccination and reminder dose should be continued.On the other hand, the emergence of worrying new variants is an indication that vaccination rates are uneven worldwide.
For example, the vaccination rate in South Africa is still at 24 percent.
Source: 1. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2299194-omicron-how-dangerous-is-the-new-variant-first-found-in-south-africa/
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03552-w
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