▲ On January 19, 2022, a man walked past a billboard on the street in Paris, France. Due to the rapid spread of the Omiljung strain, a French government spokesman said on January 18 that France is still in a severe epidemic situation. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
According to the news of Science and Technology Daily on March 14, French scientists confirmed for the first time through genome sequencing that the new coronavirus "deltacron" variant, which has attracted a lot of attention before, does exist, which combines the mutations in the delta variant of the new coronavirus and the Omicron variant.
Previously, data provided by the Global Influenza Shared Database (GISAID) showed that the United States, Europe and other countries such as the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands have successively detected Delta Kerong-related cases, of which about 30 cases have been confirmed in the United Kingdom, and this new variant may have spread among the population since January this year.
Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has entered its third year, no matter which country in the world has the same heart and the same thought, hoping to end the epidemic as soon as possible and return life to normal. Therefore, the news that the Delta Kerong variant has been confirmed inevitably adds a shadow to the global fight against the epidemic again, making people worry that the epidemic is still endless. Fortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that no new variant of Delta Kejong has been found to be more harmful than previous variants.
On February 24, 2022, people lined up to enter a store in London, England, to shop. From the same day, those who test positive for COVID-19 in England will no longer need to self-isolate. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
The hazards of Deltakron remain to be seen
According to reports, on March 8, local time, researchers at the Mediterranean Institute of Infectious Diseases Medical and Teaching Research in Marseille, France, published an article on the medical research paper preprint website medRxiv, confirming for the first time the existence of the Delta Croon variant. However, the harm of this new variant of "double poisoning" still needs to be analyzed from the specific problem.
The first thing to observe is whether Delta Kerong is more toxic than Delta and Omi kerong as a combination or fusion of the two variants of Delta and Omiljung, and whether the clinical consequences are more serious, such as increased severe disease and increased mortality.
In this regard, MARIA VAN KIRKKHOV, WHO's head of new coronavirus technology, pointed out that compared with the previous new coronavirus variant, scientists have not found any change in the severity of the new variant of Delta Kerong so far.
However, our current knowledge of this new variant is far from adequate. To prevent problems before they occur, relevant departments such as medical and public health departments should pay close attention to them and accelerate research to provide effective response and prevention and control methods. In particular, the world is not an island, and we cannot rule out the possibility that Deltakron will be introduced to the mainland.
However, on the whole, we should at least establish the idea that the new crown virus is always mutating, and it is necessary to be fully prepared for a protracted war. As far as the current situation is concerned, the overall severity of the epidemic is not as good as it was at the beginning, and under the various defense measures of global cooperation against the epidemic, the new crown epidemic is still likely to end as soon as possible.
Specific to the newly confirmed Delta Kerong, on the one hand, we need to pay attention to the specificity of the fusion of the two variant strains, on the other hand, we must also combine the characteristics of the current epidemic situation in the mainland to formulate epidemic prevention measures, so that we can be both forward-looking, targeted and efficient.
▲On March 13, 2022, at a nucleic acid testing site in Fengze District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, medical staff conducted nucleic acid sampling for the public. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
There is no need to worry too much about Deltakron
The backbone of the Deltakeron variant comes from the Delta variant, and its spike protein comes from the Amiqueron variant. The Delta variant first appeared in India in December 2020 and has spread around the world.
This variant is characterized by relatively easy transmission, with a transmission rate of about 60% higher than the alpha variant of its predecessor, which in turn is 50% higher than that of the original strain of the new crown virus.
But the biggest difference between Delta and other STRAINS is that it no longer has a loss of smell and taste, so it is more like a heavy cold. It also means that Delta's symptoms are already milder than those of the original strain.
Omikeron appeared in South Africa in November 2021 and quickly spread around the world, making it the most mutated and mutated variant of the new coronavirus to date. Omikron spreads more quickly than Delta, but it causes milder or no symptoms, resulting in significantly fewer cases of severe illness or death than previous variants.
Moreover, according to the rapid transmission of Omikeron to allow more people to gain immunity after infection and most of them are mild, some experts believe that Omilon will help alleviate or even end the epidemic.
Therefore, combining the characteristics and clinical results of these two variant strains, even if the characteristics of the two are simply added, we do not have to worry too much about Delta Kerong.
At present, for Delta Kerong, the most important thing to do in the professional research and clinical field is to analyze the structure and characteristics of the fusion of the two variant strains to form a new variant, in order to determine the possible epidemic scope and consequences in the future, as well as the post-healing evaluation of related treatments, and make a response plan.
▲On March 13, 2022, residents of Xiao'anqiao Community in Mingyuan, Zhongshan West Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai, received pre-nucleic acid test registration information. According to the unified deployment of epidemic prevention and control, on March 13, the community temporarily implemented closed-loop management. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Active prevention and control can survive the "spring cold"
In fact, as early as January 19 this year, Murray, director of the American Institute of Health Indicators and Evaluation, commented in the authoritative medical journal "Lancet" that the new crown virus may continue to exist, but the global "pandemic" is coming to an end. Moreover, the key point in time when it predicted the end of the "pandemic" was in March this year.
Murray's main reason for this judgment is that by mid-February 2022, most countries will usher in the peak of confirmed cases in Olmi kerong. By late March 2022, more than 50% of the world's population will be infected with Omikeron. Infection with Omi kerong can create protection against other variant viruses, so it can help all of humanity build an immune barrier against possible future variant viruses.
However, the emergence of a new mutant strain, Delta Kerong, may disappoint the prediction that the new crown "pandemic" will end in March. In particular, we do not have more empirical evidence on how the epidemic will develop after the Delta Croce epidemic.
To this end, in the case that the worldwide epidemic is still mainly caused by Olmi kerong, we need to respond to the current epidemic according to the characteristics of the Aomi kerong mutation strain, and it is also necessary to make preparations for prevention and control by fully judging the characteristics of Delta Kerong. For example, the common denominator of the two is that the spread is fast but the symptoms are mild or even asymptomatic, which is the common divisor when determining the prevention and control strategy.
Especially at the moment when the epidemic situation in the mainland is still on the rise, while doing a good job in prevention and control of Aomi Kerong as always, it is also necessary to include Delta Kerong in the monitoring, prevention and control vision, so that as soon as it is found, it can be grasped early, grasped small, and blocked in time.
Of course, whether it's the current Ormikeron or the potential Deltakron, we don't need to be overly nervous or even fearful. After all, since the outbreak of the epidemic, we have accumulated enough anti-epidemic experience and response capabilities. As long as we do a solid job in testing, screening, isolation and treatment, vaccination and other related work, and the public actively cooperate with prevention and control requirements and take the initiative to do a good job in protection, we have the confidence to work together to survive the current "spring cold" and usher in a real spring.
|, a special commentator of the Beijing News Zhang Tiankan (Popular Science Columnist)
Edit | He Rui
Proofreading | Li Lijun