Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2: a review of existing literature
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Lovedeep Kaur
Abstract
On November 24th, 2021 a case of a new viral variant of SARS-CoV-2 was reported by South Africa and Botswana to WHO, which later was designated as the variant of concern on 26th November 2021. It has around 60 mutations (50 non synonymous, 8 synonymous, and 2 non coding) as compared to the original parent strain of Wuhan. Different hypotheses have been put forward as an explanation for the origin like reverse zoonosis i.e. animal to human transmission, origin from an immune compromised patient or use of highly mutagenic drug like molnupiravir as treatment. A huge spike in cases around the globe is suggestive of a high rate of infectivity and transmissivity as compared to the previous known variants. With whatever cases have been documented so far, it is said that omicron causes mostly mild clinical illnesses and there is a less chance of hospitalization according to the clinicians. Among the reported cases, there were already vaccinated patients also. So there is a possibility that omicron might be able to evade the vaccine induced immunity due to a huge number of mutations (especially in the spike protein sequences). Until new vaccines specific to the pathogen are being developed, the coverage of the currently acceptable vaccines should be increased so that none is deprived of the mandatory doses and a third booster dose might help to reduce the chances of serious complications of this new strain beforehand. So an equal focus on the host and environment is required along with the pathogen.
Acknowledgments
We are thankful to Dr.Puja Kumar Jha, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, UCMS, New Delhi.
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Research funding: None declared.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Informed consent: Not applicable.
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Ethical approval: Not applicable.
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© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Articles
- Thyrotropin and body mass index, are they related?
- Does dexamethasone inhibit glucose oxidase: an analysis in kinetics and molecular study
- Gene polymorphism of leptin and risk for heart disease, obesity, and high BMI: a systematic review and pooled analysis in adult obese subjects
- Decrease in serum asprosin levels following six weeks of spinning and stationary cycling training in overweight women
- Anti-proliferation effects of Apatinib in combination with Curcumin in breast cancer cells
- Comparative evaluation of INF-γ as an immunological healing marker based on anti-tubercular treatment among diabetic and non-diabetic pulmonary tuberculosis patients
- Association of neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin, ischemia modified albumin with uric acid in the etiopathogenesis of preeclampsia
- Influence of eight weeks of combined training on adipsin and lipoprotein profile and possible relations with depression, anxiety and stress in women with multiple sclerosis
- The effect of the ratio of serum progesterone level to oocyte count on the day of IVF-ICSI injection on pregnancy outcomes in HCG cycles
- Level of non-conventional lipid parameters and its comparative analysis with TSH in subclinical hypothyroidism
- Case Report
- Long-term complete remission of metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma
- Minireview
- Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2: a review of existing literature
- Review Articles
- Modulatory role of prolactin in type 1 diabetes
- Omicron variant in COVID-19 current pandemic: a reason for apprehension
- COVID-19: a viewpoint from hepatic perspective
- Potential role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome
