WHO categorizes new Covid strain as ‘variant of concern’, names it Omicron

WHO categorizes new Covid strain as ‘variant of concern’, names it Omicron

Overview

  • Post By : Kumar Jeetendra

  • Source: AP

  • Date: 28 Nov,2021

The COVID-19 variant B.1.1.529 was first discovered in South Africa this week, was designated on Friday as a variant of concern from the World Health Organisation, which designated it Omicron.

A type of concern is part of WHO’s top classification of the most alarming Covid variants.
The Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 virus Evolution (TAG-VE) is an expert group which regularly monitors and analyzes the development of SARS-CoV-2 and evaluates whether specific mutations or combinations alter the behavior that the virus exhibits. The TAG-VE was established on the 26th of November, 2021 to examine the variant of SARS-CoV-2: B.1.1.529.

This B.1.1.529 variant was initially disclosed by WHO by a patient in South Africa on 24 November 2021. The current epidemiological situation of South Africa has been characterized by three distinct peak levels in the number of cases reported the most recent of these was mostly that of the Delta variant. Recently, infections have been rising rapidly in tandem with the identification in the B.1.1.529 variant. The first confirmed case of B.1.1.529 infection was detected in an individual that was collected on 9 November 2021.

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