New Variant(s)

[N Coast Murray]

With travel starting to open up around the world it pays to have ones head on a swivel and eyes wide open when it comes to new Covid-19 variants.

The Delta variant is the most 'successful' one so far, but there are new variants popping up all the time. Odds are they will amount to nothing, but one might win the viral genetic lottery and force Delta to the sidelines.

One has very recently been identified in Africa which has 32 mutations on the spike protein compared to Delta's 16 mutations. It has also been seen in Hong Kong, so it's already on the move.

May be nothing, but then again, this whole $hit show started with one person.

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/co...g-kong-1316864

[N Coast Murray]

24 hours later and growing. Keeping an eye on B.1.1.529:

https://www.reuters.com/business/hea...rs-2021-11-25/

[N Coast Murray]

One more:

Prof Francois Balloux, Professor of Computational Systems Biology and Director, UCL Genetics Institute, UCL, said:

“B.1.1529 is a new lineage that has been found in Botswana that carries an unusual constellation of mutations. Given the large number of mutations it has accumulated apparently in a single burst, it likely evolved during a chronic infection of an immunocompromised person, possibly in an untreated HIV/AIDS patient.

“It is difficult to know what to make of the carriage of both P681H and N679K. It is a combination we see only exceptionally rarely. I suspect it is generally not ‘stable’, but it might be so, in combination with other mutations/deletions.

“I would definitely expect it to be poorly recognised by neutralising antibodies relative to Alpha or Delta. It is difficult to predict how transmissible it may be at this stage.

“So far, four strains have been sequenced in a region of Sub-Saharan with reasonable surveillance in place. It may be present in other parts of Africa.

“For the time being, it should be closely monitored and analysed, but there is no reason to get overly concerned, unless it starts going up in frequency in the near future.”

https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/e...he-us-b-1-628/

[S/V Illusion]

Do people actually look to boating web sites to get covid news for anything other than non-authoritative entertainment?



Happy Thanksgiving and dont worry about it.

[N Coast Murray]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Do people actually look to boating web sites to get covid news for anything other than non-authoritative entertainment?

Happy Thanksgiving and dont worry about it.

111,991 posts in the Off Topic Forum would be suggest yes, they do discuss other things than boating. I'd argue this is somewhat related as it may influence where you go on your boat.

Thanks, but we had our Thanksgiving over a month ago...hope you enjoy yours!

[N Coast Murray]

Article from Nature...WHO meeting tomorrow to decide if it will get the variant of concern label...77 of 77 tested positive for this variant in South Africa...more tests being processed:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03552-w

Oh, and if anyone doesn't like reading about this stuff, they can always go to "User CP" and put this sub forum on ignore.

[N Coast Murray]

Well, that was fast.

Meet the newest variant of concern identified by the WHO and officially named, Omicron:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/new-v...-529-1.6263826

[senormechanico]

Next one will probably have the acronym, "OMG!"

[N Coast Murray]

Now found in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.

The person in Belgium had not been in the south of Africa but had returned from Egypt and Turkey, which suggests the variant is actively spreading.

It was first identified from a sample taken on November 9th.

WHO announcement:

https://www.who.int/news/item/26-11-...ant-of-concern

[Allied39]

yawn.

[N Coast Murray]

Originally Posted by Allied39

yawn.

From a few posts above:

Oh, and if anyone doesn't like reading about this stuff, they can always go to "User CP" and put this sub forum on ignore.

...or...you could go to 'Thread Tools' and put this thread on ignore.

[sv_pelagia]

Originally Posted by N Coast Murray

From a few posts above:



...or...you could go to 'Thread Tools' and put this thread on ignore.

Supposedly, according to his (her) profile, they've abandoned CF. One can always hope for the truth....

[IslandHopper]

Thought i had heard the name before....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia5c78zlyxw

[N Coast Murray]

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

Thought i had heard the name before....

Good catch!

Never heard the word before, but has many meanings:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omicron

[GordMay]

The World Health Organization has been warning, repeatedly, for months on end, that if vaccine inequity continues, if we continue to have high income countries hoarding vaccines, such that entire continents are left with very limited access to vaccines, this will inevitably lead to a more powerful virus, [a potentially vaccine-resistant virus].

Less than 3.5 percent of people, across the continent of Africa, have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Approximately 41 percent of adults, in South Africa, have received at least one dose, while 35 percent are fully vaccinated, far above the continental average.

Banning [or restricting] travelers, from African countries, may be a short term [partial] solution the spread of the new Omicron [B.1.1.529] variant, but universal vaccination should be the longer term containment/mitigation strategy.

None of us are safe, until all of us are safe.