According to the latest WHO bulletin, Omicron now dominates and its “ghost” sister Omicron 2 continues its slow growth. Also reported “chimera” mutations
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latest bulletin (8 March) of the World Health Organization
(WHO) is clear: the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2in the various “versions” it has almost literally wiped out the Deltathe only other variant of which a faint trace remains at the moment. Among the 428,417 sequences uploaded to the Gisaid platform and from samples collected in the past month, 99.7% (427,152) were Omicron and 0.1% (580) were Delta. And for all countries / areas / territories with 100 or more sequences loaded in these 30 days, Omicron remains the dominant variant.
What are the variants?
Nothing but of the variations of the genetic code of the original virus. Depending on the amount of mutations that are generated, the variant can be irrelevant in both virulence and pathogenesis or become more virulent and more pathogenic. At the moment all the variants we have had from the original “Wuhan” strain have shown greater virulence, therefore an ability to spread more rapidly but not a greater pathogenicity. And this is the great advantage that has safeguarded us up to now thanks also to the intervention of vaccines.
How do they develop?
It is a process of natural selection that we have known from the time of Darwin. When a living organism is subjected to selective pressure of any kind, it changes spontaneously. So a virus that multiplies millions of times in a short time also gives rise to spontaneous mutations. At some point if the selective pressure, induced for example by the vaccine or by drugs, leads to death the original strain, those that were mutated survive this selective pressure because they are able to bypass the action of the drug or the vaccine or that that we put in place as a countermeasure.
What is the difference between interest and concern variants?
The variants of interest are those that when they emerge are brought under attention because they are not so widespread in the population. They become of concern when the spread goes global, they are detected everywhere and lead to hospital admissions so there is a more important action than what we normally notice. The largest group belongs to the Variants of Concern, because the vaccine has intervened. Having a vaccine available, the appearance of variants suggests that there is or may be some system that makes certain variants escape the vaccine protection mechanism and for this reason they are defined as a concern.
How many variants are there?
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron are those that still remain in the list of so-called “variants of concern” (Variant of concern, Voc). Lambda and Mu, on the other hand, are among the variants of interest (Variant of interest, Voi). There are also three lineages (B.1.1.318; C.1.2 and B.1.640) which are reported among the variants under observation (Variants under monitoring, Vum).
What are the sub-variants of Omicron?
Among Omicron’s descendants lineages reported in the past 30 days BA.1.1 remains the predominant sub-variant, representing 41% of Omicron sequences (187.058), but Omicron 2 (BA.2) is undermining it, which – as predicted by experts for weeks now – is growing and now represents 34.2% of the sequences ( 156,014) globally. Follow BA.1 which accounts for 24.7% and has 112,655 sequences. BA.3 however, it currently lags far behind: it counts 101 sequences, less than 1%.
What are the main differences between the different variants?
These are mutations that are generally of interest the so-called Spike protein. So it’s as if the virus is somehow trying to find new ways of adhering to human cells. The human organism, whether for vaccination or for an acquired natural immunity from disease or from contact with the progressing virus, has developed forms of natural prevention. To evade them, the virus tries to find mutations on the Spike protein so that it can latch onto.
And those between Omicron and Delta?
Definitely Omicron compared to Delta accelerated virulence much more hence the ability to spread. Fortunately, the pathogenic capacity to induce disease has not increased in the same way. This is important anyway both appear to be limited by the action of vaccines that let’s not forget they are still based on the Wuhan strain, therefore on the first one the unchanged one, the original one.
Are new strains appearing?
Also and mix variants are appearingas the UN health agency explains: “The Technical Advisory Group on the evolution of the Sars-CoV-2 virus (Tag-Ve) and the WHO are aware of reports, reports, on recombinant variants”, a kind of “chimeras” that have a bit of Delta and a bit of Omicron, or others reported are recombinant variants of the two Omicron sub-lineages BA.1 and BA.2. “Only a few clusters have been reported to date and show very low to almost undetectable levels of transmission to contacts. No recombinant variant has been given a lineage name Pango (nomenclature used by researchers and public health agencies around the world to monitor the transmission and spread of SARS-Cov-2, including variants of concern, ed) “, Underlines the WHO.
Do you need to worry?
It is, the World Health Organization points out, “a natural phenomenon and can be considered an expected mutational event. The same process of monitoring and evaluation is applied to these recombinant variants “, after verification and exclusion of cases of potential contamination or co-infection,” as for any other emerging variant. Current epidemiological and sequencing information for these recombinants does not indicate any signs of rapid transmission or change in clinical severity.“. The more time passes, the more the viruses mutate and their strength decreases. This does not mean that it is all over and you have to lower your attention, because in any case its gravity has it. But we can certainly look at these variants with more confidence than the original strain.
What strategies to implement to avoid new variants?
As long as the virus is there, variants will also continue to appear. The main way to “fight them” it would be to have a multi-variant vaccine
because we know that the only effective preventive action against infectious diseases is vaccination. But still maintain those precautionary measures such as in some cases the mask, the spacing, the washing of the hands, it does not hurt.. Thanks to the mask worn, respiratory ailments collapsed again this winter. And this should also make us reflect on the behaviors to adopt in the coming years. When a person feels debilitated, cold and with a low-grade fever, they should wear the mask regardless of whether or not there is Covid in circulation, to avoid infecting others.. Let’s not forget that the flu generates between 8,000 and 10,000 deaths every year.
* Professor Pierangelo Clerici, president of the Italian Clinical Microbiologists Association and the Italian Federation of Scientific Laboratory Societies, collaborated
March 9, 2022 (change March 9, 2022 | 18:52)
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