Maximum attention in the world for the new South African variant of Covid-19. WHO called it Omicron. And after the first case registered in Israel, confirmed by the health authorities, now there would be the first case in Europe, registered in Belgium and as announced by the local media. It would be a young adult woman who developed symptoms 11 days after traveling to Egypt via Turkey. It had no connection with South Africa or any other country in the south of the African continent.
The patient had a high viral load at the time of diagnosis. However, she was not vaccinated, nor had she been infected in the past.
A meeting of WHO experts on the new variant B.1.1.529 of Covid was held today in Geneva, but "it will take several weeks to understand its impact". And that is to know what it potentially means in terms of contagiousness and the impact on diagnosis, therapies and vaccines.
Pharmaceutical Pfizer has also started studies to evaluate whether this variant can evade the vaccine, and expects to have the first results "within two weeks at the latest".
WHAT WE KNOW - In particular 32 mutations discovered in the new variant B.1.1.529 isolated in South Africa, which raise serious questions about the possibility that it will be able to escape the vaccines currently available. Furthermore, the question about the clinical picture that it could cause is still unanswered, while there are already elements to believe that this variant is building its own "ecological niche", that is, a protected environment that allows it to expand.
THE MUTATIONS - The 32 mutations - explains virologist Francesco Broccolo, of the University of Milan Bicocca - “are all found on the Spike protein, which the virus uses to attach itself to human cells and invade them. These are mutations for the most part known, as they have also been identified in the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants. "The good news - continues Broccolo -" is that the deletion 69-70 typically absent in the Delta variant is present, allowing then to the routine molecular tests (based on multitarget PCR) to understand immediately, in the event of a positive swab, that it is not the Delta variant ". The latter in fact does not have this specific mutation (deletion 69-70). The current tests would therefore allow to alert in the event that a positive sample had that mutation: considering that the Alfa no longer exists, it could be the new variant.
TRANSMISSIBILITY - At the moment it is not known if the variant B.1.1.529 is more transmissible than the Delta, but the first data suggest that it can be because in a few days it is expanding rapidly, overlapping the Delta.
Another question mark concerns the disease that this variant could cause, "but even for this answer - continues the expert - time is needed, considering that the studies on virulence and pathogenicity have just begun".
VACCINES - The South African authorities are currently reassuring about the protective power of vaccines currently in use: "A partial evasion of the immune response is likely - they specify - but it is equally likely that vaccines will still offer high levels of protection against hospitalization and the death".
In the meantime, many countries have already blocked air connections with South Africa and Botswana: in Europe, the decision has already been signed by Malta, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Spain, a similar decision in Israel. In Italy, Minister Speranza announced today that he had "signed a new ordinance banning entry into Italy to anyone who has been in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini in the last 14 days". "Our scientists are working to study the new variant B.1.1.529 - explains the Minister of Health - In the meantime, we are following the path of maximum precaution".
(Unioneonline / vl)
