Humanity is fighting a more intense battle against COVID-19.
Globally, the Aomi Kerong variant has replaced the "old overlord" Delta in evolution and become the world's mainstream strain; looking at the whole country, there have been cases of Aume kerong infection in 6 provinces and 9 cities in 10 days, of which Guangdong Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Meizhou and Shenzhen have successively reported local cases of the new coronavirus.
Professor Zhao Wei, director of the Biosecurity Research Center of the School of Public Health of Southern Medical University, believes that with the continuous mutation of the new crown virus, the "virulence" may weaken, and the infected people of Aomi Kerong are mainly mild, which makes the transmission of Aomi Kerong more secretive, the traceability of circulation is more difficult, and once it is out of the closed-loop management chain of entry, it is possible to produce large-scale community transmission.
The 2022 Spring Festival has already started, and a large-scale population movement across regions is bound to bring greater challenges to epidemic prevention and control. Everyone has a question in their hearts: What should we pay attention to this year's Spring Festival?
01
Omiljung transmission is more stealthy and the risk of community transmission is higher
As soon as the Omicron mutant appeared on the scene, it quickly attracted everyone's attention.
On the afternoon of December 14, 2021, the press conference on epidemic prevention and control in Guangzhou reported that on December 13, Yuexiu District reported a case of inbound personnel returning to Sui during the period of isolation and home isolation with positive nucleic acid tests, and the infected strain was the new coronavirus Aomi Kerong variant strain.
This is the first case in Guangdong and the second case in Chinese mainland reported the discovery of the Aomi Kerong variant. Fortunately, the reported case of Omiljung was found in a closed-loop management screening and did not trigger community transmission.
Time to enter 2022, the Omicron mutant strain in Guangdong carried out a hidden spread.
Since 9:00 a.m. on January 13, Zhongshan has implemented comprehensive control over all roads entering and leaving Tanzhou Town, because a food factory employee went to the fever clinic on his own and tested positive for nucleic acid. What is even more strange is that the patient and his family have not left Guangdong Province for 14 days, and occasionally went to Zhuhai City.
Zhuhai Xiangzhou and Zhongshan Tanzhou are adjacent to each other, and on the same day, the alarm was raised and nucleic acid testing was carried out for all employees. On 14 January, Zhuhai City reported 1 confirmed case of COVID-19 and 6 asymptomatic infected people. As of 21:00 on January 19, Zhuhai city has a cumulative total of 24 confirmed cases and 3 asymptomatic infected people. The epidemic also spilled over to Wuhua County, Meizhou City.
In Tianjin, no one knows how the Omicron mutant came to the city, and it has been quietly spread for at least three generations when it was discovered.
The "quiet" arrival of the virus, the prolongation of the chain of transmission, and the high risk of community transmission are one of the characteristics of this round of the Opmikharong epidemic.
Zhao Wei introduced that now the number of infections of the Aomi Kerong variant strain continues to increase, the scope of transmission is wider, even if the vaccine is vaccinated, there may be a breakthrough infection, and the proportion of occurrence exceeds other strains, "From the current epidemic data, the risk of community transmission in Aomi Kerong is higher." ”
Why is the risk higher?
Zhao Wei explained that because the virulence of Omicron was further weakened, many patients had no symptoms and did not seek medical treatment in time, so it caused hidden transmission, "When certain symptoms have occurred, it may have been spread for several generations." ”
In the two years of stalemate with the epidemic, the "four early" measures such as early detection and early isolation are the core experience of the mainland's epidemic prevention and control, but due to the properties of the Omikerong mutation, once it is not captured in time, it is likely to trigger a new round of infection.
However, the transmission trajectory is more secretive, which does not mean that it will be "invisible". The World Health Organization confirmed at the end of November 2021 that the PCR test, the gold standard for confirming the new crown, can detect the Opichron variant. The National Health Commission also said that the virus mutation site does not affect the sensitivity and specificity of mainstream nucleic acid detection reagents in mainland China.
In short, the existing means can still detect Omikejong.
02
It is difficult to trace the source of the flow, and "material transmission" is not the mainstream
Looking at the local epidemic situation reported in many parts of the country, the initial source of the epidemic is still unknown. We have to admit that in the game with mutated strains, human beings face greater and greater challenges. One of them is that the difficulty of tracing the source of the flow adjustment has increased again, and the "zero" patient is becoming more and more difficult to locate.
Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said in an interview with the media: "Now the traceability of the epidemic in Tianjin is underway, (related cases) have not occurred, and there is no contact with foreigners and people who have returned from overseas, so patient Zero cannot be found now." ”
Beijing, Shenzhen and Zhuhai have the same problem. In the latest report, it is not ruled out that the source of the epidemic comes from the exposure of foreign items, which makes the phenomenon of "material transmission" of the new crown virus go away.
In fact, in the fight with the new crown virus, people have repeatedly tested positive for nucleic acid on the surface of some foods.
"Just being positive for nucleic acid does not mean that it is contagious, it can only mean that it has been contaminated by the new crown virus." In Zhao Wei's view, the main transmission method of the new crown virus is "human-to-human transmission", and under the prevention and control strategy of dynamic zeroing, the number of infected people has been effectively controlled, so that the possibility of "material-to-human transmission" of the virus has emerged.
Wu Zunyou, chief expert of epidemiology of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that to cause infection by "material transmission to people", three conditions need to be met: first, the pollution of the article is heavier; second, the virus survives on the surface of the object for a long time, generally speaking, the lower the temperature, the longer the virus survives; the third is that appropriate protective measures are not taken when exposed to contaminant products.
However, compared with "human-to-human transmission", the amount of virus in "matter-to-human transmission" is often lower, and cases are prone to asymptomatic infection or mild infection, and if it is not found in time, it may trigger new epidemics.
In order to check the risks faster, on January 19, Guangzhou issued a reminder - from January 16 to 19, 2022, the recipients of international express mail should immediately complete a nucleic acid test.
Zhao Wei reminded that for high-risk places and key areas, it is necessary to do a good job of strict elimination in time to ensure that the virus will not survive; ordinary people do not need to be too nervous, and the express parcel letters in high-risk areas of foreign countries should be completely eliminated, and masks and gloves should be worn when checking the courier.
In addition, recently, Guangzhou, Jiangmen and other places have reported cases of abnormal nucleic acid screening of the new coronavirus, and they are all negative after review. How does a "false positive" come about?
Zhao Wei said that the occurrence of "false positives" is related to nucleic acid detection reagents on the one hand, and no matter how good the reagents are, they cannot guarantee that they are 100% accurate; on the other hand, it is possible that the positive samples or viral nucleic acids have produced pollution in the laboratory, and in a certain part of the nucleic acid amplification process of the negative samples, the pollution has entered the reaction tube.
03
Rural epidemic prevention should give play to the early warning function of grass-roots medical institutions
In January 2021, at the juncture of the Spring Festival, the outbreak of the local new crown epidemic in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, made everyone realize that the countryside may be a breakthrough in the new crown virus and a weak link in epidemic prevention.
On January 20, 2021, at the press conference on epidemic prevention and control in Guangdong Province, the relevant person in charge of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs pointed out that there are five major risks in rural areas at present - the increase in the number of returnees; the risk of visiting banquets, temple fairs, wedding banquets and other Spring Festival customs and activities; there are risks in homestays, farmhouses, farmers' markets and other places; some people have weak awareness of prevention and control; and some rural areas have insufficient health and medical conditions and service capabilities.
On January 17, the 2022 Spring Festival began. It is the Spring Festival of the new year, and the large-scale movement of people has increased the risk of transmission and spread of the virus and increased the difficulty of epidemic prevention and control.
This time against a more formidable opponent, are we ready?
In the face of challenges, various localities have begun to formulate epidemic prevention policies for returning to their hometowns, such as stipulating that they should report 3 days in advance before returning home, and holding 48-hour nucleic acid test reports, etc., to try their best to reduce the risk of epidemic transmission in the Spring Festival.
Wu Hao, an expert of the Disease Prevention and Control Advisory Committee of the National Health and Health Commission, once stressed that the medical and health conditions in rural areas and the capacity of medical institutions may be relatively weak, and it is necessary to give play to the sentinel role of grass-roots township health centers, village clinics, and individual clinics, give play to the role of monitoring and investigation, and report problems in a timely manner.
In Zhao Wei's view, on the one hand, rural epidemic prevention needs to prevent imported risks; on the other hand, it is necessary to quickly control the source of infection, once there are suspected patients, it is necessary to ensure closed-loop management to ensure that suspected patients will not contact more people in society and do not give the virus an opportunity.
Xu Yucai, deputy director of the Shanyang County Health Bureau in Shaanxi Province, said in an interview that township health centers, community health service centers, as well as village clinics, community health service stations and clinics and other grass-roots medical and health institutions, should be able to contact every patient must be discussed according to the new crown case, cooperate with grass-roots community organizations, and do a good job in patient home isolation and health monitoring. After the suspected patient is found, it is necessary to make timely referral and refer the suspicious cases that cannot be judged to the higher medical institutions.
What should be done for every returnee?
1. During the journey, leave a ticket: On the way home, on the one hand, it is necessary to prepare sufficient masks and disinfectants; on the other hand, it is necessary to keep the car, ship and plane tickets, which are marked with specific shift and seat information, so as to facilitate the retrospective travel itinerary.
2. Less gathering, less customs: the epidemic prevention and control situation is special, everyone does not have to go out, family private gatherings and dinners are best controlled below 10 people; during the Spring Festival, it is also the peak period of red and white celebrations in rural areas. However, this year, we advocate "postponing red affairs, simplifying white affairs, and not handling banquets." If you really want to do it, try to minimize the number of participants and try to set up as few seats as possible.
3. Vaccination boosters: The world health organization recommends that the main goal of "booster shots" is still to prevent hospitalizations, serious illness and death.
As the vaccination time is extended, the level of antibodies produced by various vaccines decreases, and it is imperative to strengthen immunity. Wang Ming, a public health expert in Guangdong Province, said: "When the human body is vaccinated for the second time (the third time, the fourth time, etc.), a secondary immune response occurs. At this time, the immune memory has been established, and the immune system can quickly start to produce antibodies for better persistence. ”
Lin Peng, chief expert of the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out that strengthening vaccination, especially heterologous enhanced vaccination (such as: inactivated virus vaccine + recombinant protein subunit vaccine/mRNA vaccine), can significantly improve the titer of neutralizing antibodies in the human body. Studies have shown that the research and development of pan-coronavirus vaccines may be the key research and development direction of new coronavirus vaccines in the future.
"A country and region need a strong immune barrier and medical resources to defend against the threat of Ami kerong." Zhang Wenhong, director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases Medicine and director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, said that in principle, after the coming year, whether it is the level of herd immunity, or the immune barrier established by vaccines, or the listing of new crown treatment drugs, it means that "this may be the last 'cold winter'".
[Reporter] Huang Jinhui
Part of the content comes from Nanshan Breathing and Huashan Infection Public Account
【Author】 Huang Jinhui
Guangdong health headlines
Source: South+ - Create more value