Australia has found a new line of omicrons in a traveler.
Health authorities said on Wednesday that the Australian state of Queensland had found a new strain of omicrons in a traveler from South Africa.
The state’s chief medical officer Peter Aitken told reporters. He said it was found in a traveler from South Africa and tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday.
The new lineage has enough markers “to be able to classify it as omicrons, but we don’t know enough about it in terms of clinical severity, vaccine efficacy,” Aitken said. . “We now have omicrons and omicron varieties.”
The finding comes as Queensland finally prepares to reopen its borders to the rest of Australia ahead of schedule next Monday, as more than 80% of the eligible population will be fully vaccinated by the end of this week.
The discovery could be a step backwards for scientists racing to understand the full impact of the omicron variation, including how virulent the strain is and whether a vaccine is effective in reducing the risk. seriously ill or not. Although most genetic changes are harmless when the virus mutates, some can make the mutant more adept at infecting cells, for example, or evading antibodies.
The new lineage has about half or 14 genetic mutations of the common omicron variant and does not feature the s gene knockout, making tracking through PCR testing more difficult, Aitken said. The finding “will lead to improvements in people’s recognition of the potential for omicron spread in all communities,” he said.
