Health Commission: Our national defense control strategy is still effective against Omi Keron mutant

National Health Commission:

Our national defense control strategy is still effective against the Omi Keron mutant

National Health Commission: National Health Commission: National Health Commission:Our national defense control strategy is still effective for Omi Keron mutant strains Our national defense control strategy is still effective against Omi Keron mutants

Recently, a mutant strain of the new crown virus Omi Keron has aroused great social concern
.

On the 29th, the National Health Commission organized experts from the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to answer public concerns and pointed out that China's "external defense import, internal defense rebound" prevention and control strategy is still effective for the Omi Keron mutant

Question: What is the discovery and prevalence of Omi Keron mutants?

Answer: On November 9, 2021, South Africa detected a B.
1.
1.
529 variant of the new coronavirus from a case sample for the first time
.

In just 2 weeks, the mutant strain became the absolute dominant mutant strain for the new crown infection cases in Gauteng Province, South Africa

As of November 28, South Africa, Israel, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, Austria, and Hong Kong , China , have monitored the input of this mutant strain
.

The input of this mutant strain has not been found in other provinces and cities in China

Hongkong

Question: What are the possible reasons for the appearance of Omi Keron mutants?

Answer: According to the information currently shared by the new coronavirus database GISAID, the number of mutation sites in the Omi Keron mutant strain is significantly greater than that of all the new coronavirus mutant strains that have been circulating in the past two years, especially in the virus spike (Spike) protein mutations.

.

It is speculated that the reasons for its emergence may be the following three situations: (1) After the immunodeficiency patients are infected with the new coronavirus, they have undergone a long period of evolution in the body to accumulate a large number of mutations, which are transmitted by chance; (2) a certain animal group infection New coronavirus, the virus undergoes adaptive evolution during the spread of animal populations, and the mutation rate is higher than that of humans, and then spills into humans; (3) This mutant strain has continued to circulate for a long time in countries or regions where the mutation monitoring of the new coronavirus genome is underdeveloped.
However, due to insufficient monitoring capabilities, the intermediate-generation viruses of its evolution could not be detected in time
.

Q: Is the Omi Keron mutant strong in spreading?

Answer: At present, there is no systematic research data on the transmission, pathogenicity and immune escape ability of Omi Keron variants in the world, but Omi Keron variants also have the first 4 VOC variants Alpha, Beta, and Gamma The important amino acid mutation sites of Ma and Delta spike protein include mutation sites that enhance cell receptor affinity and virus replication ability
.

Epidemiological and laboratory monitoring data show that the number of cases of Omi Keron variants in South Africa has increased significantly, and has partially replaced the delta variants.
The transmission capacity needs to be further monitored and studied
.

Q: Does the Omi Keron variant affect vaccines and antibody drugs?

Answer: Studies have shown that the presence of K417N, E484A or N501Y mutations in the S protein of the new coronavirus suggests that the immune escape ability is enhanced; while the Omi Keron mutant strain also has a triple mutation of "K417N+E484A+N501Y"; in addition, the Omi Keron mutation The strain also has many other mutations that may reduce the neutralizing activity of some monoclonal antibodies
.

The superposition of mutations may reduce the protective efficacy of some antibody drugs against Omi Keron mutants, and the ability of existing vaccines to escape immunity needs further monitoring and research

Question: Does the Omi Keron variant affect the nucleic acid detection reagents currently used in my country?

Answer: The genome analysis of the Omi Keron mutant strain shows that its mutation site does not affect the sensitivity and specificity of mainstream nucleic acid detection reagents in China
.

The mutation sites of the Omi Keron mutant strain are mainly concentrated in the highly variable region of the S protein gene, and are not located in the nucleic acid detection reagent primers and probe target regions published in the eighth edition of China's "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention and Control Program"

Question: What measures have been taken by relevant countries and regions?

Answer: In view of the rapid prevalence of Omi Keron mutants in South Africa , many countries and regions including the United States, Britain, the European Union, Russia, Israel, Taiwan and Hong Kong have restricted the entry of visitors from southern Africa
.

Taiwan Hong Kong

Q: What is the WHO recommendation for the Omi Keron variant?

Answer: WHO recommends that countries strengthen the surveillance, reporting and research of the new coronavirus, and take effective public health measures to stop the spread of the virus; it is recommended that individuals take effective infection prevention measures, including keeping a distance of at least 1 meter in public places, wearing masks, Open windows for ventilation, keep your hands clean, cough or sneeze into your elbows or tissues, vaccinate, etc.
, while avoiding poorly ventilated or crowded places
.

Compared with other mutant strains, it is still uncertain whether the Omi Keron mutant strain has stronger transmission, pathogenicity and immune escape ability.

Focus on the new crown pneumonia epidemic