Author of the article: Bloomberg News Linda Lew and Michelle Fay Cortez Date of publication: 05 Apr 2022 • 15 hours ago • 4 minutes reading • 66 Comments A man wearing a face mask walks in front of an information board about a coronavirus pod in a hospital in London on March 3. Photo by Toby Melville / Reuters
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(Bloomberg) – The unveiling of new variants of Covid emerging in China and the rise of a potentially more contagious strain in the UK has once again turned the spotlight on the continuing risk of the virus, even when health experts say there is no reason panic. The World Health Organization says a two-strain hybrid – BA.1 and BA.2 – first identified in the UK and named XE could be the most contagious variant to date. It is estimated to spread 10% more easily than BA.2, which in itself was more contagious than the original micron known for its ease of penetration.
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In China, meanwhile, which is experiencing its biggest outbreak since Wuhan, authorities have uncovered two new micron variants that do not match any existing sequences. It is not clear whether the infections were isolated events of minor importance or whether they may be a sign of future problems. “If the Chinese authorities’ efforts to curb transmission are ineffective against a highly contagious virus, such as the Omicron variant, it could be a threat to the rest of the world,” said Rajeev Venkayya, a former White House biosecurity adviser. the CEO of Aerium Therapeutics Inc. on March. “We know that uncontrolled transmission of the virus can lead to a greater evolution of the virus and an evolution around vaccines and therapeutic drugs,” potentially making them less effective, he said.
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FDA hearing The continued release of Covid-19 almost 2.5 years after its first detection in China, due to the development of mutations that allow infections to increase and deaths to hit the same sites over and over again, remains a key issue for a world ready to live with coronavirus. The US Food and Drug Administration is holding a hearing this week to discuss which booster vaccines will be needed and how to choose which specific strains of the virus to target. The number of infections from these new variants is tiny, given the extent of outbreaks that continue to occur worldwide, and scientists have documented the appearance of many variants that have gone nowhere. The UK health authorities have recorded more than 630 XE cases, stressing that more information is needed.
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We should keep a close eye on the new recombinations, but we should not panic right now Leo Pun “We need to keep a close eye on new recombinations, but we need not panic right now,” said Leo Poon, a virologist and professor at the University of Hong Kong who has been monitoring and reporting on the emergence of new strains. “It is not unexpected to see recombinant variants of Covid, or a mixture of two previous strains, especially since delta and micron strains are widespread,” he said. It is possible that some people will be infected by both strains. If a variant were to be found in many areas and spread to the community, then that would be worrying, he said. Revelations of China China’s recent revelations about new variants are spreading at a very early stage, making it difficult to know how important the findings are.
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Officials in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, about 110 miles (110 km) from Shanghai, reported being infected with a sub-variable omicron from BA.1 over the weekend. It did not match any existing sequences in China or in the International Virus Sequence Database known as GISAID. It was found in a patient with a mild case of Covid, said the city health authorities. A second infection detected in the northeastern city of Dalian was caused by a BA.2 subtype that does not match any sequence of domestic or imported cases in the country to date. He was found in an employee of a fashion store selling clothes imported from South Korea. Nearly 400 close contacts were tested. Everything was negative.
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Asian infections New executives from around the world are now appearing in Asia. The first infection caused by the XE variant in Thailand was detected on Saturday, while in February a different recombinant variant was found in two people who arrived in Hong Kong from Europe. The strain has not been detected in the community and the two travelers have fully recovered. Most of the infections in China and Hong Kong, where more than half of the city is estimated to have been infected since the beginning of the year, come from existing variants, said Stephen Goldstein, a virologist at the University of Utah. Thus, while cases are an emergency for governments and public health officials, they do not currently represent a global health threat, he said. “I do not really expect a new variation of the Omicron epidemics in Hong Kong and China,” Goldstein said. “That said, this virus has certainly surprised us in the past and we need to stay vigilant.” © 2022 Bloomberg LP
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