Sohu Medicine | Why does Omi Keron have so many mutations?Seven questions and seven answers__China Medical

Sohu Pharmaceutical

Recently, a variant of the new crown virus Omi Keron has caused a new round of panic around the world. It may have higher transmission and can also evade some immune protection. However, there are still too many unknowns about the impact of this new virus on the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

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The US Statnews website pointed out that the main reason was that the virus was released too early and there was no time to do more research.

Looking back at the past virus variants, it took about a few months from the first discovery to the WHO’s list of “variants of concern”, giving scientists more time for further analysis, and the latest B.1.1.529 This process of Omi Keron variant only took two weeks. In order to determine whether it will destroy the immunity produced by the vaccine or previous infections, scientists need to extract antibodies from people’s blood and test them against Omi Keron. However, it takes a lot of time to cultivate this variant or build a virus model in the laboratory.

According to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s new crown pneumonia issue leader, scientists are currently obtaining information from the limited epidemiological evidence in South Africa and the mutation lineage of the variant. South Africa and other countries are conducting a large number of investigations on the characteristics and spread of the variant itself. Severity, severity, and impact on current diagnosis, treatment, and vaccines. There is very little information currently available, and it is expected that it will take several days or weeks to complete.The research team emphasized that it is not yet known whether this variant will have a major global impact, but there are reasons to urge countries to prepare and take action as soon as possible.

The following is the existing known and unknown virus information:

01 Why is there a variant of Omi Keron?

Virus mutation is only the result of evolution, and there is no special reason. However, the emergence of variants is an inevitable result of the unequal distribution of global vaccines. Only a quarter of people in South Africa are protected by vaccines, and the higher the level of continued spread of the virus, the greater the risk of high-threat variants.

02 Why does Omi Keron have so many mutations?

Scientists speculate that there are a large number of mutations in Omi Keron, which are probably not from ordinary cases of infection. Most people can clear the virus after an acute infection, but people with compromised immune systems will develop chronic infections. The virus survives in the body for a long time, and its mutation accumulation rate will far exceed the level of normal new coronaviruses. Previously, the alpha virus is likely to be produced in patients with chronic infections.

It is worth noting that although Omi Keron has nothing to do with Delta, given that Delta spreads on a large scale worldwide, the variants that will appear in the future are likely to be the offspring of Delta.

03 Where has Omi Keron appeared?

The South African National Institute of Infectious Diseases detected the Omi Keron pedigree last Monday, and it is a wake-up call for the world. Researchers from Botswana and Hong Kong, China also publicly released the sequence, and since then Belgium and Israel have reported related cases. This virus may also appear in other countries, but it has not been detected yet.

It is not known which country this variant originated from, but South Africa and Botswana have very well-developed gene sequencing networks, and they discovered the virus for the first time. Affected by this, the United States and many other countries have restricted routes to these two countries as well as Zimbabwe, Namibia and other countries.

04 Why did Omi Keron arouse the rapid attention of various countries and the WHO?

First, Omi Keron seems to be more threatening than other variants found in South Africa, including Delta, and spread faster. It has promoted the increase in the number of cases in South Africa, and perhaps, like Delta, can cause infections in people protected by vaccines.

In addition to the current epidemiology, scientists are also worried about the number and types of Omi Keron mutations. These mutations have the same sites as other mutant viruses before, including viruses that have been proven to be more transmissible and have escape immunity. What is particularly worrying is that Omi Keron has 32 mutations in the spike protein, and the spike protein is the identification target of the vaccine. It is not yet possible to predict the effect of such a combination of mutations.

05 Will Omi Keron cause the vaccine to fail?

Theoretically, changes in the viral spike protein can cause the antibodies caused by vaccines or infections to fail to recognize them. However, the vaccine can produce a polyclonal antibody response, and multiple antibodies in the vaccine can recognize different spike proteins. The spike protein of other variants has only one specific antigenic site change, and there is no antibody recognition, and there are other antibodies that can recognize it. The effect of the vaccine is not weakened much, but it may have a major impact on monoclonal antibody drugs.

What is disturbing is that there are 32 mutations in the spike protein of Omi Keron, and almost all the known antigenic sites have changed on the virus. This indicates that the ability of the antibody to neutralize the virus has decreased, but it has not been proven.

South Africa’s Health Minister Joe Phaahla said that a breakthrough infection is occurring in the country, but most of the hospitalized patients have not yet been vaccinated, indicating that the vaccine has protection for Omi Keron. A report published by “Nature” pointed out that scientists have found breakthrough infection cases of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson vaccinators in South Africa, providing evidence for its immune escape ability.

From an optimistic point of view, so far, some virus variants have strong resistance to vaccines, but vaccines can still keep up with the speed of virus mutation. The virus needs to have a large number of escape-generating mutations in a specific location in order for it to completely escape immunity. In addition to the antibody response, the vaccine also produces different levels of immune protection, such as T cell immunity. T cell immunity does not seem to be affected by virus mutations, but this kind of immune response is more difficult to study.

At least for a period of time, the third booster dose of the vaccine can trigger high levels of antibodies, which can broadly resist mutant viruses. Experts believe that even if this new variant can produce immune escape, the risk of infection for people who have not been vaccinated or who have a weak response to the vaccine is still much higher than that of ordinary vaccinators. Currently, vaccine manufacturers should develop newer vaccines to prevent the outbreak of Omi Keron.

06 What are the scientists going to do next?

First, scientists will continue to observe the situation from an epidemiological perspective. The number of cases of this virus in South Africa is small, and its apparent increase may be the result of super-spreading events, or just related to the advanced genetic sequencing in South Africa. If there is a sudden outbreak in other countries, it will add evidence of stronger transmission capabilities.

Secondly, scientists will further study the virus in the laboratory to evaluate the recognition and neutralization of Omi Keron by antibodies produced by vaccines and people with a history of infection. Companies such as Pfizer and Moderna have also begun research on new viruses to assess whether they need to update their vaccination issues. And whether the infection caused by this virus will bring a higher risk of severe illness.

07 Will Omi Keron eventually lead to a new wave of pandemics?

Delta variants have caused multiple rounds of epidemics around the world, but other variants classified as “worrying” such as beta and gamma only appeared in the area initially reported. The impact of variants on different countries may depend on the local protection capabilities and the level of infection of other viruses.

What is worrying is that Omi Keron will cause panic in some wealthy countries that stock a large amount of vaccines. They will take a closer round of measures to boost vaccination. Vaccination boosts can help activate the immune system and produce stronger protection. force. However, the promotion of vaccine boosters by wealthy countries will further aggravate the plight of countries below the middle level. The unfair distribution of vaccines highlighted will cause the virus to continue at a very high level worldwide.

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Why Omi Keron has so many mutations

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Reference

1. Scientists rapidly identified the Omicron variant. But firm answers about its impact could take weeks

Scientists rapidly identified the Omicron variant. But firm answers about its impact could take weeks

2. What’s known and unknown about Omicron, the coronavirus variant identified in South Africa

What’s known and unknown about Omicron, the coronavirus variant identified in South Africa