New Coronavirus Mutation Brings Uncertainty To Asian Outbreak

The recent accelerated spread of Omicron BA.2 is leading to a new wave of outbreaks in many parts of the world, with the number of infections rising. As some Asian countries gradually open their doors, there could be a surge of cases in the future.

Omicron will not be the last mutant strain of the new coronavirus, which is still in flux.

covid

On April 2, the Suzhou CDC introduced Yang, a light confirmed case found in Changshu, Suzhou on March 28, who was infected with a virus that was sequenced and compared to the evolutionary branch of the Omicron variant strain BA.1.1 subtype, a highly homologous sequence of the new coronavirus genome not found in the database of local and imported cases, or in the global GISAlD database of new coronaviruses.

It was also reported by CCTV news that a case of infection with the XE variant strain was found in Taiwan, China. The case was reported to have entered the country from the Czech Republic on 18 March and was diagnosed as an asymptomatic infection.

The continued mutation of the new coronavirus also brings uncertainty to the new wave of outbreaks being experienced in Asia.

Omicron transmission gaining strength

"As long as the chain of transmission of the virus is not cut, then continued mutation will be difficult to avoid." A virus expert told reporters, "Judging from the mutation of Omicron, the virus is moving towards increasing transmission."

The reporter checked public data showing that the R0 value for transmission of the original New Crown strain, which spread early, was 2-3, the R0 value for the Delta variant was 6-7, and the R0 value for Omicron BA.1 was 7-8.

The Omicron BA.2 subtype variant, also known as the "stealth virus", which was prevalent in the Asian outbreak, has now become the new crown strain of the global epidemic. Data show that the BA.2 variant is 30% more infectious than the original version of the Omicron, the BA.1 variant. The variant accounted for less than 1% of all cases of the virus sequenced in January this year, but has grown rapidly since then.

Last week, the latest data released by the UK Health and Safety Executive (UKHSCA) showed that a new mutant strain of XE, derived from a recombination of Omicron subtypes BA.1 and BA.2, is gaining in transmission. As of 22 March, 637 cases of XE have been identified in England.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, the XE variant was not significantly different from the Omicron BA.2 variant when it was first identified in the UK on 19 January this year, although it is now 9.8 per cent more infectious than the BA.2 variant.

Although the number of reported cases of XE in the UK represents only 1% of the total number of sequenced cases, it has attracted the attention of the WHO. However, it has attracted the attention of the WHO. The WHO warned last week that the XE variant could become the most transmissible version of the new strain of the crown to date.

An infectious disease expert told reporters, "There is still very limited data related to the genetic sequence of the XE variant strain, and we should use the data to see if infections from the XE variant strain will start to grow in other countries."

The expert also said that the recent accelerated spread of Omicron BA.2 is leading to a new wave of outbreaks and a rise in the number of infections in many parts of the world. As some Asian countries gradually open their doors, there could be a surge of cases in the future.

Outbreaks rebound in many parts of Asia

South Korea said on Friday that it would further relax social distance rules from April 4. South Korean health officials said most restrictions related to the new pandemic crown, including the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors, could be lifted later this month if the number of daily cases continues to fall over the next two weeks and the medical system for seriously ill patients is managed in a stable manner.

Omicron infections peaked in Korea in mid-March, when the number of cases per day exceeded 600,000. According to data reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Thursday, there are still close to 300,000 new cases of new crown infections per day in South Korea, with the total number of infections having surpassed 13.37 million and the death toll having reached 16,590.

The situation in Japan is not encouraging either. In the week ending March 31, the number of confirmed cases in Japan increased by 17 per cent compared to the previous week, according to Xinhua news agency, citing data.

Japanese epidemiologists believe that the rebound may be linked to the relaxation of epidemiological restrictions and the spread of subtype BA.2 of the Omicron strain. Japan lifted the focus on epidemic prevention in 18 prefectures, including Tokyo, on March 22.

According to data from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) of Japan, from March 7 to March 13, cases of BA.2 subtype accounted for about 20% of new cases, and it is projected that the proportion of Omicron BA.2 will increase to 60% in early April and 90% by the end of April.

An opinion piece published last week by researchers at the University of Chicago and Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre laboratories concluded that a significant jump in viral infectivity has played a major role in driving the New Crown epidemic to its current stage of pandemic proportions. The Omicron mutant strain is significantly more infectious and more vaccine-tolerant than the original Wuhan strain.

"There is no reason why the virus should not continue to evolve, at least biologically speaking. The new coronavirus variants to date have only attempted to exploit a small fraction of the genetic space that is most likely to be used in virus evolution." The researchers wrote.

They also say that while it is impossible to answer how much more infectious the new coronavirus can grow, there is a limit to the evolution of the virus, which means that the infectiousness of the new coronavirus will not grow indefinitely. "Even a cheetah can't run infinitely fast." The researchers said.

"The virus is certainly not spreading indefinitely fast, otherwise the flu virus would have been even more divine after all these years." Professor Xu Jianqing, director of the Institute of Translational Medicine at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre, told the First Financial News. Influenza has an R0 value of 1.5-3, while other more infectious viruses such as measles have an R0 value of about 15.

According to Xu Jianqing, virus mutations also need to meet certain conditions, such as large-scale, sustained spread of the virus in the population would provide a good basis for the emergence of new mutant strains. "Of course for the virus to mutate in individuals or small populations, time is more important." Xu Jianqing said.