New study: Omicron can cause secondary infections | Omi Keron | Human Immunity

[Epoch Times December 04, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Xu Jian comprehensive report) According to the latest research of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NICD) of South Africa, the new variant Omicron (Omicron) is “huge” infectious. It is able to escape the previously generated immunity in the infected person’s body, leading to the second infection of the Chinese Communist virus (COVID-19, new coronavirus) patient.

According to Sky News, this finding suggests that this new variant may cause a large number of infections even in people with “high antibody levels.” NICD researchers warned that this discovery has important public health implications.

The study published by South African scientists on Thursday (December 3) showed that compared with Delta or Beta mutant strains, Omicron variants are much more likely to cause reinfection.

Since March 2020, scientists have studied nearly 2.8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa and found that 35,670 of them were re-infection cases. If the case tests positive 90 days apart, it is considered reinfected.

Although only about a quarter of South Africa’s population has been fully vaccinated, due to several large-scale COVID-19 waves in the country, many people have gained natural immunity after being infected.

The researchers said: “We found that the reinfection rate is increasing significantly and continuously, which coincides in time with the appearance of the South African Omicron variant. So part of the reason is that the virus has increased its ability to reinfect people who have already been infected. .”

The scientist added that what is urgently needed now is to determine whether Omicron can also evade the immunity brought by the vaccine.

Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia’s Norwich School of Medicine said: “The significance of this report is that Omicron will be able to largely overcome natural or vaccine-induced immunity. But the degree of escape is unclear. “He said, “Another big uncertainty is whether the new virus will increase the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death.”

Expert: Omicron is the fastest spreading variant in South Africa

Juliet Pulliam, director of the South African DSI-NRF Epidemiological Modeling and Analysis Center, said on Twitter: “Recently reinfected patients, including those who have been infected in the first three waves of the epidemic, most of them have been infected with Delta ( Virus).”

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases of South Africa said on Wednesday that in November Omicron surpassed other virus variants, accounting for 74% of the genome sequenced last month, after Delta had been dominant. The total number of cases in South Africa has also risen rapidly in the past three days.

“Omicron may be the fastest-spreading variant in South Africa’s history,” said Tulio de Oliveira, professor of public health at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it would deploy a reinforcement team to South Africa to help deal with the mutation outbreak. The team will be sent to Gauteng to help with surveillance and contact tracing.

Editor in charge: Lin Yan#