a Australia got one Omicron’s New Lineage in a traveler who came from South Africa, Queensland state health officials said on Wednesday.
New strain accounts for nearly half of all genetic variations omicron The state’s interim health chief Peter Aitken said it could not be detected with basic and specific tests. It was found in a passenger who had come from South Africa and tested positive for coronavirus last Saturday, he said.
The new strain has enough markers “to be able to classify it as an oomicron, but we don’t know enough about what this means in terms of clinical severity and vaccine efficacy,” says Aitken. he said. “We now have an Omicron variant and an Omicron-like strain.”
Coronavirus: The new strain has almost half the genetic variation of the original Omicron – Photo: Pixabay
The new strain has about half of the mutations (14) genome of the traditional Omron version and has no features gene s making it harder to track through tests PCR, Aitken said. He added that the discovery “will lead to advances in people recognizing the potential for omicron to spread across all communities”.
The discovery could come as a blow to scientists who have been quick to understand the full impact of the Omicron strain, including how virulent the strain is and whether vaccines are effective in reducing the risk of serious disease.
The discovery comes as the state of Queensland prepares to reopen its border with the rest of Australia ahead of schedule next Monday, as more than 80% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated by the end of this week. Will go
