The Omicron variant (for other names, see ยง Nomenclature) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on 24 November 2021.On 26 November 2021, the WHO designated it as a variant of concern and named it after omicron, the fifteenth letter in the Greek alphabet.
- Omicron variant and other major or previous variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 depicted in a tree scaled radially by genetic distance, derived from Nextstrain on 1 December 2021
- The variant has an unusually large number of mutations, several of which are novel, (see ยง Mutations) and a significant number of which affect the spike protein targeted by most COVID-19 vaccines at the time of discovering the Omicron variant. This level of variation has led to concerns regarding its transmissibility, immune system evasion, and vaccine resistance. As a result, the variant was quickly designated as being "of concern", and travel restrictions were introduced by several countries in an attempt to slow its international spread.
Signs and symptoms
- No unusual symptoms have yet been associated with the variant as of 26 November 2021, and, as with other variants, some individuals are asymptomatic.Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, said she had first encountered the variant in patients who had fatigue, aches and pains, but no cough or change in sense of smell or taste.
- Fergus Walsh wrote, "South Africa has a young population and it is encouraging that doctors there are reporting that Omicron is causing mild symptoms with no increase in hospital admissions. But we need to see what happens when the variant moves into older age groups who are the most vulnerable to Covid." However, in an update on the variant, the World Health Organization stated "Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa",even if it has not been determined that this is attributed to this specific variant.The WHO asked nations to do the following:
- Enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts to better understand circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.
- Submit complete genome sequences and associated metadata to a publicly available database, such as GISAID.
- Report initial cases/clusters associated with virus-of-concern infection to WHO through the IHR mechanism.
Where capacity exists and in coordination with the international community, perform field investigations and laboratory assessments to improve understanding of the potential impacts of the virus of concern on COVID-19 epidemiology, severity, effectiveness of public health and social measures, diagnostic methods, immune responses, antibody neutralization, or other relevant characteristics.
Tips you must follow to prevent its spread
- Timely detection of this variant is essential to curb its spread. Do not neglect any symptoms like cough, scratchy throat, and tiredness, and immediately consult the doctor.
According to an expert, Omicron is transmissible and can cause more severe disease than delta varient.
- Omicron, the latest virus of concern (VOC) has now reached India as two people in Karnataka tested positive for the variant on Thursday. While both the patients have been showing mild symptoms, the Covid-19 variant is said to be heavily mutated and highly transmissible and people are advised to follow all the time-tested precautions and not delay testing in case of symptoms.
"Timely detection of this variant is essential to curb its spread. Do not neglect any symptoms like cough, scratchy throat, and tiredness, and immediately consult the doctor,".
- while the current RT-PCR test does not specify which variant has been identified, however, the PCR kit manufacturers are working on the issue and more information will be out once manufacturers publish their results.
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