The Ômicron variant was identified in African countries in November 2021. The strain was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa on 24 November. On 26 November, WHO classified the strain as a strain of concern.
The definition brings together the new coronavirus strains that present alterations that can affect the virus’s properties, with one or more implications, including increased transmission capacity or disease severity, as well as impacts on the effectiveness of vaccines, drugs and methods of diagnosis.
WHO advised that countries should improve surveillance and efforts to carry out genomic sequencing of the virus, which allows for a better understanding of circulating variants.
One of the concerns regarding the lineage is the large number of mutations, which can confer advantages to the virus, such as greater transmissibility and escape from the immune system.
Confirmed cases not Brazil
Currently, five cases of the Ômicron variant have been confirmed in Brazil, three in São Paulo and two in the Federal District. According to the Ministry of Health, eight cases are under investigation, one in Minas Gerais, one in Rio de Janeiro and six in the Federal District. All patients are monitored by the Center for Strategic Information on Health Surveillance (CIEVS) in each state.
The first cases of the Ômicron variant of the new coronavirus in Brazil were confirmed on November 30 by the Instituto Adolfo Lutz, in São Paulo. The two cases are of a 41-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman who came from South Africa.
Confirmation was made using the genomic sequencing technique performed by the laboratory of the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein and validated by Adolfo Lutz, a reference in Covid-19.
The third case was confirmed in São Paulo on the 1st. According to the State Department of Health, a passenger from Ethiopia, who landed at Guarulhos Airport, on November 27 tested positive for the new variant.
On December 2nd, two other cases of Covid-19 associated with the Ômicron variant were identified in the Federal District. According to the DF Health Department, the two men arrived in Brazil from South Africa on November 27th.
Reference: CNN Brasil
