On the 14th local time, WHO held a regular press conference on new crown pneumonia. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Omiljung strain has appeared in 77 countries and regions around the world. WHO also said that the harm of the Omi kerong is spreading at an unprecedented rate and that the harm is currently underestimated, and although the symptoms of infection with the Aomi kerong variant are less severe, a large number of infections will overwhelm the health system.
Recently, Tianjin and Guangdong have detected the new coronavirus Aomi Kerong mutation from the inbound personnel, has "Aomi Kejong" been getting closer and closer to us? Is the vaccine still useful? You need to know this about Omikeron.
What is the Omikeron mutant strain?
On 9 November 2021, a variant of the new coronavirus B.1.1.529 was detected for the first time in South Africa from a sample of cases. In just 2 weeks, the strain became the absolute dominant variant of the new crown infection case in Gauteng Province, South Africa, with rapid growth. On November 26, the WHO defined it as the fifth "variant of concern" (VOC), named the Greek letter O (Omicron, pronounced "Omicron") variant.
Comparison of dtal strain and Aomi kerong strain spike protein mutations. (Image courtesy of Children's Hospital of Rome)
Why do the Opmicron mutants need attention?
1. There are more mutations than the Delta strain
2. It may lead to a greater risk of transmission
3. May have stronger vaccine resistance
4. It may lead to an increase in the risk of people's secondary infection with the new crown
How fast does the Omikeron mutation spread?
Turio de Oliveira, director of the South African Centre for Epidemiological Response and Innovation, said that "Omi kerong" appears to have spread so quickly that it became the main epidemic strain in South Africa in two weeks, with 90% of the cases in Gauteng, the most affected province, infected by this strain. According to data released by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of South Africa, from November 23 to 30, the number of new confirmed cases in a single day in the country rose rapidly from 868 to 4373, a four-fold increase. According to the available data, Infectious Disease Expert Wilander calculated that "Omikeron" was 5 times more contagious than the original new coronavirus strain, while "Delta" was only 70% more contagious. In addition, according to the PCR test results of the "Omi kerong" infection case in Belgium and Hong Kong, china, the number of cycles required to detect viral genetic material is small, indicating that the viral load in the patient is very high and the infectivity is strong.
Would the Omicron mutant be more dangerous?
Xu Wenbo, director of the Institute of Viral Disease Prevention and Control of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the amino acid mutation site of the spike protein on the "Omikerong" has the "Delta" virus, as well as some important amino acid mutation sites of the "Alpha" "Beta" and "Gamma" virus, but the increase in mutation sites does not mean that its transmission force must be enhanced, nor does it mean that its immune escape must be stronger than that of the "Delta" virus, and the cluster mutation is not necessarily an accumulation, 1 + 1 is greater than 2 that form, and it also requires structural virology, cross immunity neutralization, Field epidemiology observes the protective effect of the vaccine. Overall, "Omikeron" is still the new crown virus, and it will not undergo subversive changes.
Are existing vaccines and nucleic acid tests still effective against the Opmi kerong variant?
According to WHO, the currently commonly used polymerase chain reaction test (nucleic acid detection) can still be used to label the Omiljung strain. Xu Wenbo said that the mutation of "Omi Kerong" is mainly concentrated in neutralizing the antigen spike protein, china's mainstream nucleic acid detection reagent design is ORF/ab gene and N gene, these two genes do not seem to change, so the sensitivity and specificity are not affected, China's mainstream nucleic acid detection reagents can cope with the input of "Omi Kerong" variant strain.
Xu Wenbo said that "Omilon" still belongs to the new crown virus, although its amino acid accumulation mutation, but the vaccine is still effective, can reduce the proportion of severe illness and death, it is impossible to completely break through the immune barrier, because in addition to antibody immunity, there are T cell immunity, and our country has a variety of vaccine immunization technology routes listed, including inactivated vaccines, protein vaccines, vector adenovirus vaccines, as well as enhanced needles, sequential immunity, and then China also has the development of second-generation seedlings, the above are able to cope with the "Omilon" strain.
Measures taken by the countries and regions concerned
In view of the rapid epidemic trend of the Aumechjong variant in South Africa, many countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, Israel, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have restricted the entry of tourists from southern Africa.
WHO recommendations for responding to the Omikejong variant
The World Health Organization recommends that countries strengthen surveillance, reporting and research on the new crown virus, and take effective public health measures to block the spread of the virus; it is recommended that individuals take effective infection prevention measures including maintaining a distance of at least 1 meter in public places, wearing masks, opening windows for ventilation, keeping hands clean, coughing or sneezing on elbows or tissues, vaccinating, etc., while avoiding poor ventilation or crowded places. Compared with other VOC variants, it is uncertain whether the Omiljung variants are more transmissible, pathogenic and immune-escape, and the relevant research will yield preliminary results in the coming weeks. But what is known is that all variants can cause severe illness or death, so preventing the spread of the virus is always key, and the COVID-19 vaccine is still effective in reducing severe illness and death.
How can the public guard against it in daily life?
(1) Wearing a mask is still an effective way to block the spread of the virus, and the same applies to the Omikejung variant. Even if the full vaccination and vaccination of the booster injection have been completed, it is still necessary to wear a mask in indoor public places, public transportation and other places. In addition, wash your hands frequently and ventilate indoors.
(2) Do a good job of personal health monitoring. When there are suspected symptoms of new crown pneumonia, such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and other symptoms, timely monitor body temperature and take the initiative to seek medical treatment.
(3) Reduce non-essential entry and exit. In just a few days, many countries and regions have reported the import of the Aomi Kerong variant, and China is also facing the risk of the import of the variant, and the current global understanding of the variant is still limited. Therefore, travel to high-risk areas should be minimized and personal protection during travel should be strengthened to reduce the chance of contracting the Aumechjong variant.