Hong Kong, Tianjin and Guangzhou have detected the Omilon strain, how does China respond?

Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health commission, said that the Aomi Kerong variant does not affect the sensitivity and specificity of the existing nucleic acid detection reagents in China, and China's monitoring system has the ability to timely detect imported cases of the Aomi Kerong variant.

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Following the discovery of Ami Kerong infection in Hong Kong, the Aomi Kerong variant was also detected in mainland China. Today (December 14) afternoon, Guangzhou held a press conference on epidemic prevention and control to disclose that Guangzhou found the city's first positive case of imported Aomi Kerong. Yesterday, Tianjin also released news that the Discovery of the Aomi Kerong mutation strain was detected for the first time Chinese mainland.

Just a few days ago, on December 11, the relevant person in charge of the National Health Commission pointed out that the Aumechjong mutation further increased the uncertainty of the epidemic situation, and the pressure of China's "foreign defense import" continued to increase.

Omi kerong quickly attracted global attention, but its key issues such as its spread, pathogenicity, and immune escape remain inconclusive. The World Health Organization says there is currently limited evidence that the omiljung community may be spreading faster than Delta.

Wu Hao, a community prevention and control expert of the Comprehensive Group of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, said that from the perspective of the epidemic caused by previous variant strains, the speed of community transmission not only depends on the spread of the virus itself, but also closely related to the environment, prevention and control response, and people's health literacy. According to China's "dynamic zeroing" prevention and control strategy, even if there is a spread in the local area, it can be extinguished as soon as possible to reduce the impact.

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Tianjin and Guangzhou have successively detected Aomi Kerong

▲The first positive case of Omike rong was found in Guangzhou, and it was quarantined for 18 days after entering the country and tested positive. Beijing News Our Video Production (ID: wevideo)

Today (December 14) afternoon, Guangzhou held a press conference on epidemic prevention and control, at which it was said that Guangzhou found the first positive case of overseas imported Omicron.

The case, a 67-year-old male, lives at No. 65, Tiansheng Village, Huale Street, Yuexiu District. He entered from abroad on November 27 and tested negative for several times during the centralized quarantine. On December 11, after lifting the isolation, he returned to Guangzhou by plane (CA1837) and was transferred to his home in Yuexiu District for home isolation in a closed loop; on the 12th, the Huale Street Community Health Service Center routinely collected nucleic acid samples for him, and reported that the results were positive in the early morning of the 13th, and the resampling and re-examination results of the municipal and district CENTERS for Disease Control and Prevention were positive. The case was transferred to the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University for isolation and treatment, and after further examination and expert consultation, it was confirmed to be an ordinary type of new crown pneumonia and is currently in stable condition.

The Guangzhou Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted whole genome sequencing and sequence analysis of the new coronavirus on the nasal swab of the case, and after review by the provincial and municipal CENTERS for Disease Control and Prevention, reported to the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation, the new coronavirus was detected as a Variant of Aomi Kerong.

As of 12:00 on December 14, a total of 10,544 people have been screened in key places, and the results have been negative. A total of 132 environmental samples were collected, 128 environmental samples tested negative, and 4 positive were found in the residence of the cases.

After checking from a number of ticket purchase websites, CA1837 is an Air China flight with a route from Shanghai to Guangzhou. After 14 days of centralized isolation, the infected person entered Guangzhou on the above flight, and the nucleic acid samples collected the next day of home isolation were found positive.

Just yesterday, Tianjin also detected the Aomi Kerong mutant strain.

On December 13, according to the Tianjin Municipal Epidemic Prevention and Control Command, the Tianjin Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted whole genome sequencing and sequence analysis of the new coronavirus on the respiratory specimens of asymptomatic infected people imported from outside Tianjin on December 9, and after review by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it was confirmed that the New Coronavirus Olmikron variant (B.1.1.529 evolutionary branch) was detected. Those infected in Tianjin are closed-loop control personnel in Tianjin and are currently isolated and treated in designated hospitals. It is reported that this is the first time that the new coronavirus Olmi kerong variant has been found in the Chinese mainland.

According to CCTV news, Gu Qing, director of the office of the Tianjin New Crown Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters and director of the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission, introduced that the Aomi Kerong variant found in Tianjin this time was an entry personnel from Europe, who had a normal body temperature when entering Tianjin and declared no abnormality. After the customs quarantine inspection and sampling, the whole process of closed-loop management is transferred to the centralized isolation medical observation point in Xiqing District. On December 9, the nucleic acid test result of the new crown virus was positive, that is, he was transferred to Haihe Hospital by 120 ambulance. The case is an asymptomatic infected person who currently has no cough, fever and other symptoms, and is being isolated in the designated hospital for new crown pneumonia in Tianjin.

He said that the case, as an entry person, may have a positive infection on the flight. So far, no other infected persons have been found in the nucleic acid test for the flight's inbound personnel.

At the press conference of the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held on December 11, Mi Feng, spokesman of the National Health Commission, said that the current global pandemic of the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still in the development stage, the number of new confirmed cases in the week continues to exceed 4 million, the mortality rate has risen, the Aumicron variant has further increased the uncertainty of the epidemic, and the pressure of China's "external defense import" continues to increase.

Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health and Health Commission, introduced that the emergence of the Aomi Kerong variant has aroused global concern, and the National Health Commission attaches great importance to the changes in the spread and pathogenicity of the Aomi Kerong mutant strain, and organizes relevant units to closely follow the latest research on the mutation, infectivity, pathogenicity and impact of the vaccine immunity effect of the Aomi Kerong mutant strain, and analyze and judge.

He said that the Aumi kerong variant does not affect the sensitivity and specificity of the existing nucleic acid detection reagents in China, and China's monitoring system has the ability to timely detect imported cases of the Omicron variant.

The spread of Aumechon to more than 60 countries and regions The key issues remain to be solved

From its discovery, naming and spreading in November, Omi kerong spread rapidly.

According to WHO, as of 9 December 2021, cases of infection with the Aumecreon variant have been detected in 63 of all six WHO Regional Committees.

The assessment of the Omilon threat depends largely on three issues. The first is the ability to spread, followed by how much the vaccine and previous prevention and control measures can play in preventing infection, transmission, morbidity and death, and finally how virulent the mutant strain is. Public health recommendations are developed around evidence of these key issues.

In terms of dissemination power, based on the limited evidence available so far, It seems that Omicron has a growth advantage over Therdalta. Whether in South Africa, where Delta is less prevalent or in the United Kingdom, The Semicon seems to spread faster than Delta. Among them, the rapid growth observed in countries with high population immunity is still uncertain whether it is related to immune escape. According to the current data, Aomi Kerong will be faster in community communication than Delta.

Previously, South Africa said that the pathogenicity of Omi kerong has decreased, and the patient's symptoms are mild. Although all the cases reported so far by the EU/EEA have been mild or asymptomatic, it is unclear to what extent Omikeron may have reduced its virulence, WHO said. Recently, Yang Peng, director of the office of the Beijing Global Health Center, also said that the severity of symptoms is related to the physical fitness of the infected person, and it is impossible to judge the decline in the virulence of Omilon.

Immune escape is another concern. So far, there are limited available data on the efficacy or effectiveness of the Omicron vaccine and no peer-reviewed evidence, WHO said. Prima facie evidence and significant changes in the Opichron spike protein suggest that vaccine efficacy may be reduced, increased rates of reinfection in South Africa, and may also be associated with humoral immune evasion. In addition, preliminary evidence from a number of studies with limited sample sizes suggests that serum obtained from individuals who have been vaccinated or infected has a lower neutralizing activity against Omi kerong than other COVID-19 variants.

When Omikejong comes, how will our country respond?

▲Guangzhou CDC talks about the Aomi Kerong variant strain: it does not affect the sensitivity and specificity of existing nucleic acid detection reagents in China. Beijing News Our Video Production (ID: wevideo)

At present, a total of three places in China have found cases of Aumicron in Hong Kong, Tianjin and Guangzhou.

Wu Liangyou said on the 11th that the National Health Commission will closely track the global epidemic trend of the Aumecreon variant, continue to adhere to the overall strategy of "external prevention of import, internal prevention of rebound", strictly implement the management of inbound personnel and goods, strictly prevent the import and spread of the Olmikeron variant, increase the research on the Omnikeron variant, and provide scientific and technological support for China's precision prevention and control and vaccine research and development. The scientific understanding and epidemic risks of the Aomi Kerong mutant strain will also be announced to the public in a timely manner.

Recently, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council also issued the Notice on Strengthening the Prevention and Control of the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic in Port Cities, proposing to improve the epidemic prevention and control mechanism of port cities, improve the epidemic monitoring and early warning system, implement border control measures, strengthen the prevention and control of personnel in high-risk posts, and strictly control the flow of personnel.

Wu Hao, a community prevention and control expert of the comprehensive group of the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council and the dean of the College of General Medicine and Continuing Education of Capital Medical University, told the Beijing News reporter that from the perspective of the epidemic caused by previous variants, the speed of community transmission is not only related to the spread of the virus itself, but also closely related to the environment, prevention and control response, and people's health literacy. According to China's "dynamic zeroing" prevention and control strategy, even if there is a spread in the local area, it can be extinguished as soon as possible to reduce the impact.

The reporter noted that the research and deployment of Aumi Kerong by various parties in various places is advancing.

Previously, the Research Team of the University of Hong Kong has isolated and cultivated the Omikejong variant, which will be used in animal models to assess transmissibility, immune escape and pathogenicity, and to explore the development and production of an inactivated all-virus vaccine. These strains were also sent to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccine manufacturer Kexing Biologics and Sinopharm Group to assist in the follow-up development of vaccines against the Ami kerong virus.

Yang Peng revealed that Beijing has reserved technical resources for testing Omiclon. He also said that the characteristics of Omi kerong will be tracked, and the specific prevention and control details such as the close connection determination may be adjusted in the follow-up according to the new characteristics of the mutant strain.

Gu Qing said that in order to prevent the spread of the Aomi Kejong mutant virus in the hospital, Tianjin has specially designated a special ward for those infected with the Aomi Kerong variant virus, and a special medical team will treat them. In terms of foreign defense imports, Tianjin mainly strengthens supervision at four key gates, including airports and seaports, isolation points, hospital senses, and comprehensive inspection and co-investigation of inbound personnel and other local personnel.

Wu Liangyou reminded that the new crown virus vaccination is still an effective means of epidemic prevention and control, and the National Health Commission will continue to accelerate the promotion of new crown virus vaccination, guide the elderly over 60 years old to accelerate vaccination, actively and steadily carry out vaccination work for people aged 3-11, further improve the vaccination rate of key groups, and win the initiative for epidemic prevention and control.

According to data from the National Health Commission, as of December 12, 2021, China's 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have reported a total of 2,612,218,000 doses of covid-19 vaccine.