Since the beginning of November, a new variant of COVID, located in South Africa and Botswana, has the scientific world in suspense waiting to learn more about it. The variant, called omicron, is “worrying“for the World Health Organization (WHO), as it has “several mutations that can have an impact on how it behaves, how easily it spreads or the severity of the disease it causes.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, points out that in her institution They take the new strain of the virus “very seriously” and that they know they are “in a race against time” to stop it. Therefore, it has warned that you have to prepare “for the worst”. The rapid transmissibility it is showing in southern Africa and the first confirmed cases in Europe have set off alarms.
What warning signs do you have?
Ómicron has more than 50 mutations in its genome compared to the sequence of the original strain. 32 of them are in protein S, which worries scientists. “Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, compared to other“warns the WHO. However, not much is yet known about this new strain, of which the South African doctor Angelique Coetzee noticed for the first time, when observing symptoms different from the usual ones in her patients.
Young people presented intense fatigue and even a racing pulse in the case of a six-year-old girl. However, none of them lost their smell or taste, which are frequent symptoms in the original strain of the coronavirus and in some of its variants. This was what alerted the doctor that they could be facing a new strain.
How does omicron affect those vaccinated?
“His symptoms were different and milder than what he had treated before,” Coetzee told The Telegraph. In addition, he confirms that a score of his patients tested positive for COVID with omicron symptoms. Nevertheless, the majority were healthy men with a single symptom in common: generalized fatigue.
“We had a very interesting case. A six-year-old girl had a fever and a very high pulse. But two days later I was much better“, says the South African doctor. Coetzee, in other statements for the BBC, ensures that in your country the situation is “extremely mild”. “We have not hospitalized anyone yet. I have spoken with other colleagues and the picture is the same,” he says, easing concern.
What are the most common symptoms of COVID?
The WHO has so far included among the most common symptoms are cough, fever, tiredness and loss of taste and smell. However, there are other symptoms that can develop such as a sore throat, headache, diarrhea, and even muscle pain. The most serious are shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, loss of speech, mobility, or confusion.
The Delta variant showed the appearance of new symptoms, such as a runny nose and mucus, and the generalization of others such as sore throat and headaches. Although vaccines have been shown to be very effective in preventing severe symptoms and death, they do not prevent infection. Nevertheless, although infection is still possible, its symptoms are much milder than in unvaccinated people, and includes runny nose, headaches, or a dry cough.
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