Photo: INA FASSBENDER / AFP / Getty Images
The expert group of the World Health Organization (WHO) met this Friday to analyze the impact of the new variant of the coronavirus detected in South Africa determined that it is a “risk variant”, possibly more contagious , and the baptized with the Greek letter omicrón .
WHO recognizes that some of the new mutations of the variant omicrón seem to suggest an even higher transmission capacity than previous strains, with cases detected “in almost all South African provinces”.
“The variant has been detected at a faster rate than in previous surges in the number of infections, which it could indicate that it has an advantage when it comes to spreading. ”
World Health Organization.
They did not indicate for now if the new variant is more or less resistant to the anticovid vaccines , but they did point out that the tests of diagnosis of the disease with PCR seem to continue to be valid to detect it.
These experts, emergency meeting in the so-called Advisory Group of Experts on the Evolution of Viruses, alerted that the appearance of this variant, first confirmed in a specimen collected on November 9 , has coincided with a strong increase in infections in South Africa .
Before the name was revealed, Maria Van Kerkhove , WHO technical leader in covid – 19, admitted: “ we still don’t know much about this . What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations, and the concern is that when there are so many mutations this may have an impact on how the virus ”.
Measures emergency
The omicrón variant, which has led many countries to suspend flights with southern Africa , worries about the high number of mutations that it presents, since in just two weeks about thirty have already been detected, with confirmed cases not only in South Africa but also in neighboring Botswana, Hong Kong (China) or Belgium.
“ It will take us weeks to understand what impact this variant has on any possible vaccine, for example, ”added Van Kerkhove.
Risk variants are followed more intensively by WHO and the global laboratories, and in addition to the omicron there are four others: alpha (first detected in the United Kingdom), beta (also in South Africa), gamma (Brazil) and delta (India).
These variants are usually associated with a higher transmission speed , although in recent months the delta, more contagious than the three previously detected, became the dominant , until the point that in the last laboratory analyzes it appears present in the 99, 8% of new global cases.
The WHO advisory group did not issue new recommendations on limitation to travel or other preventive health measures, but he did ask the community ci international organization to continue the follow-up work on this and new variants.
In addition, the taking already known measures against previous variants, which include the use of masks, hand hygiene, physical distancing, good indoor ventilation , avoid crowded places and the same anticovid vaccination.
With information from agencies.
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