Coronavirus: Key symptoms of the new Centaurus variant
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The “summer surge” in coronavirus cases is “troubling”, especially with the arrival of the mutant variant BA.2.75, nicknamed Centaurus. “First detected in India, in early May, cases of the new variant of the Omicron strain are increasing exponentially in the UK,” Kinane cautioned. Centaurus is reportedly “multiplying twice as fast as the BA.5 strain”.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have designated Centaurus as a “variant under monitoring”.
“Concerns are being fuelled by the sheer number of mutations compared to its predecessors,” Kinane explained.
“Particularly in relation to the spike protein, which allows the virus to bind more efficiently to cells.”
Kinane added: “There are also fears that these genetic tweaks might make it easier for the virus to bypass antibodies.”
While the vaccine programme has been successful in mitigating the impact of Covid, “it is clear that the virus is not about to disappear”.
“There are some extremely worrying trends in the rising number of infections, particularly when compared to the levels from a year ago,” said Kinane.
“These are already leading to a gradual rise in hospitalisations.”
The latest official data from the UK government is that the number of people testing positive for Covid in the past week has increased by 24.6 percent.
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A rise in the number of Covid infections is now translating into an increased number of patients being admitted to hospital.
There has been an increase of 18.1 percent in the past week.
And the number of people now dying within 28 days of testing positive for Covid is also on the rise.
There has been a rise of 32.6 percent in the number of patients now dying from the disease.
Experts are concerned that Centaurus variant could be “more transmissible or able to cause severe infection”.
“There is also a view among experts that the BA.2.75 variant could have undergone several extra mutations and possess characteristics similar to the BA.2 variant,” Kinane added.
The virus will continue to mutate, Kinane certified, adding that “it is quite likely that more new strains will emerge that are more transmissible”.
“It is important to understand that vaccines tend to reduce the disease severity,” Kinane stated.
“But only slightly reduce the ability for the vaccinated person to catch the virus and pass it on.”
Whether immunity is gained via vaccination or previous infections, the virus will develop “structural changes that make it invisible to your immune system”.
Vaccine immunity wanes at three months, so “reasonable precautions” are advised, such as wearing face masks.
Denis Kinane is the leading immunologist and founding scientist at Cignpost Diganostics.
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