The new coronavirus mutant strain, Olmi kerong, has appeared in many provinces in the mainland.
Recently, domestic and foreign studies have shown that the mildness of Omi kerong is gradually changing the symptoms of virus infection. Compared with the previously ravaged Delta strain, the chance of pneumonia caused by Omi kerong is greatly reduced, and the loss of taste or smell in infected people is reduced, but symptoms similar to the common cold or flu such as sore throat and general fatigue are more obvious.
"The virus is getting milder, so prevention and control must be moved forward." Virologist Chang Rongshan pointed out that in the face of the future trend of influenza, the construction of grass-roots fever clinics in townships is the top priority, "Whether it is for influenza, new crown or other infectious diseases that may appear in the future, it is a once and for all thing." ”
Tan Xiaodong, a professor at the School of Public Health of Wuhan University, told the surging news (www.thepaper.com) that the new crown epidemic will not end abruptly, "the fight against the epidemic must still be vigilant, we are still on the road." ”
The chance of pneumonia in Omi kerong is greatly reduced
According to a data released by the Central Epidemic Prevention And Countermeasures Headquarters on January 24, the mortality rate of infected people in Olmiquerong in South Korea is 0.16%, equivalent to one-fifth of the mortality rate of Delta infection cases (0.8%), but slightly higher than the fatality rate of influenza.
Citing the results of the analysis by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the Japan Broadcasting Association made a comparative analysis of the new crown pneumonia infection situation in a specific time period
The Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) reported on January 22 that the National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan analyzed and compared the new crown pneumonia infection situation in 1 of the 13 prefectures in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba Prefectures) and found that compared with the original virus strains that circulated around the fall of 2020, the rate of pneumonia caused by the Delta variant was about 0.73 times; while the Omiljung variant that began to circulate in early January this year had a significant reduction in the rate of pneumonia, only about 0.12 times that of the original virus strain.
That is to say, the pneumonia rate caused by Aomi Kerong is about one-sixth of Delta's.
In addition to the reduction in fatality and severe illness rates, recent foreign studies have shown that the mildness of Omi kerong is gradually changing the symptoms of new coronavirus infection.
Motoi Suzuki, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Center at Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said the rapid decline in the rate of severe symptoms among COVID-19 patients since the end of last month may reflect a low risk of severe illness caused by the Omiljunn variant itself, "possibly due to the effects of vaccines and other factors."
Katherine Poehling, an infectious disease expert and member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said in an interview with NBC that cough, nasal congestion, runny nose and physical fatigue are prominent symptoms of the Omikejong variant. But unlike the Delta strain, many patients do not lose their sense of taste or smell.
Japan's Hiroshima Prefectural Government previously analyzed the situation of about 400 Positive Patients in the Jurisdiction of Omikerong and found that 52% of the patients had "sore throat" symptoms, more than 34% of the Delta variant was endemic. At the same time, the rate of "coughing" and "general fatigue" in patients with the Omikejung variant was also higher than that of the Delta variant.
But on the other hand, the rate of decline or disappearance of smell and taste is only 1%, lower than the 6% of the Delta variant.
Based on data collected locally in Scotland last December, the UK Health Security Agency analysed the differences in symptoms between the Olmirkron and Delta variants and published a research paper.
On 14 January 2022, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) analysed the differences in symptoms between the Aumecreon and Delta variants based on data collected locally in Scotland last December and brought similar findings.
The study, which compared 182133 Opmiqueron cases with 87,920 Delta cases, found that 54 percent of Omi kerong patients felt a sore throat, and only 34 percent of Delta patients developed the symptom.
Loss of smell and taste is less common in TheOmetchon cases, about a third of the previous ones. The experimental data showed that only 13% of Ometchon cases lost their sense of smell and taste, compared with 34% of Delta's patients.
"Sore throat" requires attention
Researchers at King's College London in the United Kingdom called for the local government to immediately revise the list of symptoms, such as "sore throat" as one of the symptoms of the new crown virus, "patients with corresponding symptoms should be screened immediately."
In the United States, where the number of new COVID-19 cases once exceeded one million in the United States, at the end of December 2021, Allison Arwady, director of the Chicago Public Health Agency, pointed out at a news conference that sore throat is a predictor of the onset of the disease in Omicron, especially for people with mild breakthrough infections.
There is new evidence that Omikeron does not penetrate deep into the lungs of the human body instead of the previous variant, but replicates rapidly higher in the respiratory tract.
Yuan Guoyong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chair professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, and colleagues studied a series of cell and mouse models and found that in human lung epithelial cells, the replication efficiency of Omi kerong is more than three times lower than that of the wild type. Alpha, Beta, and Delta, on the other hand, are all copied more efficiently than the wild type, or higher than the wild type.
Hugh Cassiere, director of intensive care at Long Island North Shore University Hospital in New York, believes that Aumicron patients are more likely to have bronchitis than pneumonia.
Li Tong, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Infectious Diseases of Beijing You'an Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, once had the same view. He pointed out to the surging news that a number of animal experiments have found that the Omiljung variant has reduced replication in the lungs and more replication in the upper respiratory tract, which is consistent with the clinical report that the Omiljung infected people are mainly upper respiratory tract symptoms, and the severe cases are relatively rare.
"Compared to Delta, Omexjong infected people have milder symptoms and, as everyone hopes, start to look more like the flu or the common cold." Li Tong once said.
However, Takao Okusu, director of the International Infectious Disease Center of the National Center for International Medical Research in Japan, said that the situation that elderly people and patients with chronic diseases are prone to severe illness has not changed, and "it must not be taken lightly."
Takao Ōsumi pointed out that the Omicron variant is more likely to proliferate in the throat, and there are confirmed cases that cannot eat and drink because of severe sore throat, which in turn causes the deterioration of the general state, so patients must pay attention to ingestion of water and nutrients, and thoroughly do a good job in epidemic prevention.
The fight against the epidemic is still on the way, experts: the construction of fever clinics at the grass-roots level will be the key
At present, many parts of China are facing the Omicron.
"The virus is getting milder, so prevention and control must be moved forward." Virologist Chang Rongshan told the surging news that the time for the patient to be infected with Omicron was very short, from the onset of illness and the onset of symptoms to the end, "about 5 days." When a patient develops symptoms such as fever and goes to buy medicine, it means that he has been infected two or three days ago. If isolated after a positive nucleic acid test within 72 hours, the patient's symptoms are likely to have disappeared.
He believes that in the face of the future trend of influenza, the construction of grass-roots fever clinics is the top priority and is crucial for the implementation of the "four mornings". "Nucleic acid testing capabilities, isolation capabilities and testing personnel are a powerful tool to prevent infectious diseases in the future."
On December 7, 2020, the Department of Primary Health and Health of the National Health Commission issued the Notice on Strengthening the Establishment of Fever Clinics in Grassroots Medical and Health Institutions, requiring all localities to set up fever clinics in qualified township health centers and community health service centers to ensure that the registration, screening, isolation, reporting, treatment, referral and other functions of fever patients are realized under the requirements of normalized epidemic prevention and control.
Wang Ping, vice president of the First Hospital of Peking University and director of the National Outpatient Professional Quality Control Center, once said that with the gradual advancement of graded diagnosis and treatment, the first diagnosis of patients in the community is a trend. "It is necessary to let fever patients be treated nearby, block the transmission route at the first time, and avoid continued transmission on the way to medical treatment and in large hospitals."
Chang Rongshan pointed out that when the fever clinic goes deep into the mainland township areas and reaches a certain scale, the fever clinic can be networked with local pharmacies, so as to achieve the effect of one plus one is greater than two, reduce the occurrence of cross-infection and medical resource run, accurately track and locate, and further reduce the risk of infection. "Whether it's the flu, COVID-19 or other infectious diseases that may arise in the future, it's once and for all." He said.
The ongoing Omiljung has seen multiple subtypes of infections, with a variant called BA.2 causing a surge in COVID-19 cases in the United States and around the world. Early studies have shown that BA.2 is quite hidden and infectious, and some researchers have called it an "invisible version of the Olmikron strain."
Chang Rongshan said that the new crown epidemic is far from over, and the next step is to focus on observing the changes in the epidemic situation in the southern hemisphere and vigilance against whether the Aumi Kejung subtype will become a variant dominant epidemic strain, "The key time point is From June to August this year."
Tan Xiaodong, a professor at the School of Public Health of Wuhan University, pointed out to the surging news that the termination of the new crown global pandemic is premised on the emergence of no new variants. At the same time, the end of the epidemic is a gradual process of deceleration, and it is unlikely that it will suddenly step on the brakes. "We must still be vigilant in fighting the epidemic, and we are still on the road."
Katrina Pollock, head of the COVID-19 vaccine programme at Imperial College London, predicts that "the pandemic will not end this year, but through scientific research and globally coordinated efforts, we may enter a better phase".