The new Corona variant Omikron unsettles the whole world and poses many questions to scientists. However, it is probably not as new as initially assumed.
Stellenbosch – Omikron, that sounds a lot more threatening than Alpha or Delta. But how dangerous is the new variant of the coronavirus really? And where does it come from? One of the Omikron discoverers, Wolfgang Preiser from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, says: Omikron is older than the alpha and delta mutations.
Preiser is a member of the research consortium that identified Omikron for the first time in South Africa at the end of November. The corona variant classified as “worrying” has a particularly large number of mutations – in places that are responsible for the docking and absorption of the virus on human cells. The oldest known evidence of the variant so far comes from the first half of November. So far, four cases have been detected in Germany. However, experts assume far more infections that are undetected.
Corona: Omikron has evidently been developing for many months
“The question is: Why did Omikron stay hidden for so long and only start now? Are there still one or two mutations missing in order to be able to spread quickly? ”Asked Preiser in an interview with the German press agency. Omikron has probably developed over many months without attracting attention, he explains.
There are various theses about the origins of Omikron, says Preiser. Accordingly, it could be that the corona variant developed in an immunocompromised person, for example in an HIV-positive person. “This is a speculative thesis and not proven,” admits Preiser. As did his second hypothesis – that the omicron developed in an animal and was transmitted to humans.
New corona mutation Omikron: Soon the dominant variant in Europe
According to the EU health authority ECDC, Omikron could be the dominant variant in Europe in just a few months. The agency recently pointed out that while there are still a number of uncertainties about the communicability, severity of illnesses, and possible immune effects. However, preliminary data indicated that Omikron had a clear advantage over the Delta variant.
Preiser assumes that Omikron is more easily transferable than Delta. He does not see any definite signs that Omikron leads to milder disease courses than Delta. It’s still too early for that. It is also unclear whether children are particularly susceptible to Omicron. Corona cases are currently increasing among minors in South Africa. In the metropolitan area around the capital Pretoria alone, there have been around 100 hospitalizations of children in the past two weeks. According to the South African Ministry of Health, they are now the second largest age group for infections after the over 60s.
Corona variant Omikron: children affected more often? Scientists explain the phenomenon
“Although there are currently a lot of hospitalizations among children in South Africa, they are hardly vaccinated”, explains Preiser. Medical doctor Waasila Jassat, a scientist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases NICD, explains at the Editorial network Germany also that the parents of all the admitted children were not vaccinated either.
Other questions are still open, for example how the vaccinations against Omikron work. “There are currently very many breakthrough infections in people vaccinated with Omikron in South Africa. But it is unclear whether this is due to the special properties of the variant. ”It is also conceivable that external circumstances play a role. Healthcare workers who are more severely affected by declining protection due to early vaccination, for example, are currently infected. (jo / dpa)
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