It likely got there in several steps of mutation -- most of them undetected since there is limited Covid surveillance in Africa
New Coronavirus Variant (Omicron; B.1.1529) a ‘Serious Concern’ in South Africa
- Thread starter ipatent
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It likely got there in several steps of mutation -- most of them undetected since there is limited Covid surveillance in Africa
Why scientists think the new variant may have emerged in an HIV patient
If this is the route for B.1.1.529, it is not the first time chronic infections in immunocompromised people have caused concern
If this is the route for B.1.1.529, it is not the first time chronic infections in immunocompromised people have caused concern
The South African scientists tracking the new coronavirus variant believe it probably evolved in a patient with HIV/Aids with a chronic Covid-19 infection.
If so, it will not be the first time a variant has emerged in a patient with a long-running Covid infection, scientists told the The Telegraph. In fact, many experts believe it could be how some of the other variants sprang up, including alpha, the first global "variant of concern", which emerged in Kent last autumn.
Across the world, scientists have traced the virus evolving in immunocompromised patients with months-long Covid infections.
Patients with untreated HIV or other conditions that weaken the immune system - such as cancer, for example - can struggle to see off Covid, leaving their body fighting the virus for prolonged periods. They effectively act as an evolutionary training gym for the virus to mutate to find new ways around their immune responses.
If so, it will not be the first time a variant has emerged in a patient with a long-running Covid infection, scientists told the The Telegraph. In fact, many experts believe it could be how some of the other variants sprang up, including alpha, the first global "variant of concern", which emerged in Kent last autumn.
Across the world, scientists have traced the virus evolving in immunocompromised patients with months-long Covid infections.
Patients with untreated HIV or other conditions that weaken the immune system - such as cancer, for example - can struggle to see off Covid, leaving their body fighting the virus for prolonged periods. They effectively act as an evolutionary training gym for the virus to mutate to find new ways around their immune responses.
All viruses become less lethal and more contagious with time.
The lethal variants tend to kill their host thereby limiting their propagation. The less lethal variants then spread and become very contagious but cause less acute illness.
Of course, world governments will seize the opportunity to force their agenda further regardless.
I seriously have one eye on the exits now. Soon you won't be able to fly commercially without presenting your papers
The lethal variants tend to kill their host thereby limiting their propagation. The less lethal variants then spread and become very contagious but cause less acute illness.
Of course, world governments will seize the opportunity to force their agenda further regardless.
I seriously have one eye on the exits now. Soon you won't be able to fly commercially without presenting your papers
To where?
WaPo:
Biden administration focuses on booster shots as best strategy against new coronavirus variant
A lot of "we don't know yet" in that statement.
Biden administration focuses on booster shots as best strategy against new coronavirus variant
Fauci said “it is quite conceivable if not likely” that booster shots will provide at least a partial shield of protection against the new variant.
----------------------------------A lot of "we don't know yet" in that statement.
On virus mutations, virulence and transmission evolution:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7095397/
White House press release:
Dr. Fauci informed the President that while it will take approximately two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity, and other characteristics of the variant, he continues to believe that existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of COVID.
Dr. Fauci informed the President that while it will take approximately two more weeks to have more definitive information on the transmissibility, severity, and other characteristics of the variant, he continues to believe that existing vaccines are likely to provide a degree of protection against severe cases of COVID.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/world/middleeast/israel-morocco-travel-bans-omicron.html
Morocco said on Sunday it would deny entry to all travelers, even Moroccan citizens, for two weeks beginning Monday. The country is banning all incoming and outgoing flights over the two-week period.
It might not be so bad.
https://www.reuters.com/world/afric...n-variant-have-very-mild-symptoms-2021-11-28/
https://www.reuters.com/world/afric...n-variant-have-very-mild-symptoms-2021-11-28/
November 28, 20212:58 PM CSTLast Updated 5 hours ago
Africa
S.African doctor says patients with Omicron variant have "very mild" symptoms
By different coronavirus strain among patients said on Sunday that symptoms of the Omicron variant were so far mild and could be treated at home.
Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on Nov. 18 she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit "very mild".
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Now designated Omicron by the World Health Organization, the variant was detected and announced by South Africa's National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Nov. 25 from samples taken from a laboratory from Nov. 14 to Nov. 16.
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Coetzee said a patient on Nov. 18 reported at her clinic being "extremely fatigued" for two days with body aches and headache.
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"Symptoms at that stage was very much related to normal viral infection. And because we haven't seen COVID-19 for the past eight to 10 weeks, we decided to test," she said, adding that the patient and his family turned out to be positive.
On the same day, more patients came in with similar symptoms, which was when she realised there was "something else going on." Since then, she's seen two to three patients a day.
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1/5
A passenger in a taxi wears a face mask with colours of the South African flag after the announcement of a British ban on flights from South Africa because of the detection of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) variant, in Soweto, South Africa, November 26, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
"We have seen a lot of Delta patients during the third wave. And this doesn't fit in the clinical picture," she said, adding she alerted NICD on the same day with the clinical results.
"Most of them are seeing very, very mild symptoms and none of them so far have admitted patients to surgeries. We have been able to treat these patients conservatively at home," she said.
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Coetzee, who is also on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines, said unlike the Delta so far patients have not reported loss of smell or taste and there has been no major drop in oxygen levels with the new variant.
Her experience so far has been that the variant is affecting people who are 40 or younger. Almost half of the patients with Omicron symptoms that she treated were not vaccinated.
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"The most predominant clinical complaint is severe fatigue for one or two days. With them, the headache and the body aches and pain."
The news of the new variant emerging from South Africa prompted a swift reaction from several countries, including Britain, which on Friday imposed a travel ban on several southern African countries with immediate effect, a decision South Africa has strongly contested. read more
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Since Friday, many countries have also banned air travel to and from South Africa, including the United States, other European countries, and some Asian nations.
