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Tag: COVID variant

  • Omicron Covid variant may have originated in animals, study finds

    By PTI

    WASHINGTON: The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have been transmitted from an animal species to humans, according to a study.

    The research, published recently in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, provides new insights into the evolutionary origins of Omicron.

    An essential step in coronavirus infection occurs when spike protein, which helps the virus to infect the cells, binds to the host’s receptor.

    After establishing consistent infections in the host, the spike protein becomes adapted to the host’s receptor.

    The researchers carried out a detailed structural biology analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

    They identified several mutations in the Omicron spike protein that were uniquely adapted to the mouse receptor and incompatible with the human receptor.

    This suggests the Omicron variant might not have originated from humans directly and instead may have been transmitted from other animal species to humans, according to the researchers.

    “These Omicron mutations are evolutionary traces left by the virus during its transmission from one animal species to another,” said study lead author Fang Li, from the University of Minnesota in the US.

    “Our detailed structural biology approach has successfully recovered these subtle yet unique evolutionary traces,” Li said.

    The researchers noted that the COVID-19 virus is capable of infecting many animal species — which is one of the main reasons why variants keep emerging.

    These findings also suggest that epidemic surveillance of rodents may be important for stopping new COVID-19 variants from emerging in the future, they said.

    “Animal-to-human transmission of coronaviruses will likely continue to threaten global health. It has been suggested that all coronaviruses circulating in humans came from animals,” said Li.

    “I am working with my colleagues to address current and potential future coronavirus pandemics by developing therapeutics targeting both human coronaviruses and animal coronaviruses,” the scientist added.

    WASHINGTON: The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have been transmitted from an animal species to humans, according to a study.

    The research, published recently in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, provides new insights into the evolutionary origins of Omicron.

    An essential step in coronavirus infection occurs when spike protein, which helps the virus to infect the cells, binds to the host’s receptor.

    After establishing consistent infections in the host, the spike protein becomes adapted to the host’s receptor.

    The researchers carried out a detailed structural biology analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

    They identified several mutations in the Omicron spike protein that were uniquely adapted to the mouse receptor and incompatible with the human receptor.

    This suggests the Omicron variant might not have originated from humans directly and instead may have been transmitted from other animal species to humans, according to the researchers.

    “These Omicron mutations are evolutionary traces left by the virus during its transmission from one animal species to another,” said study lead author Fang Li, from the University of Minnesota in the US.

    “Our detailed structural biology approach has successfully recovered these subtle yet unique evolutionary traces,” Li said.

    The researchers noted that the COVID-19 virus is capable of infecting many animal species — which is one of the main reasons why variants keep emerging.

    These findings also suggest that epidemic surveillance of rodents may be important for stopping new COVID-19 variants from emerging in the future, they said.

    “Animal-to-human transmission of coronaviruses will likely continue to threaten global health. It has been suggested that all coronaviruses circulating in humans came from animals,” said Li.

    “I am working with my colleagues to address current and potential future coronavirus pandemics by developing therapeutics targeting both human coronaviruses and animal coronaviruses,” the scientist added.

  • India detects highly infectious new Omicron sub-variant BF.7 

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the festival season, India has detected a highly infectious Omicron variant BF.7, said to be behind the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in China, the US and other European countries.

    Officials said the first case of BF.7, described as ‘Omicron spawn,’ has been detected by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research centre. 

    The variant, BA.5.2.1.7 or BF.7 for short, is a spinoff of the Omicron subvariant BA.5, which is currently the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the US and other countries.

    “We are continuing to monitor the situation to see whether this variant turns out to be more virulent and could lead to a fresh surge in India,” an official told The New Indian Express. 

    The new variant, which swept through China less than a week after it was first identified in Northwest China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was highly infectious and showed greater transmissibility. After the new variant was detected on October 4, China announced fresh lockdowns and travel restrictions.

    Officials said they also monitor the number of hospitalisations and deaths in the country.

    “So far, there is nothing to worry about, but people must continue to follow Covid appropriate behaviour ahead of the festival time,” the official added. 

    India is consistently reporting 2,000 Covid cases, said NC Krishnaprasad, a Covid data analyst from Kerala, adding that certain states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, have shown a hike in cases in the past few weeks.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also warned about the new variant.

    According to Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association (IMA) Covid-19 task force, “BF.7 is the name given to a great-grandson of BA.5, which is a major sub-lineage or descendant of Omicron.”

    “These are called immune escape variants, which means they can infect people who had been vaccinated or past infected,” he added.

    He said with the festive season approaching, people must follow standard precautions, the most important of which is to keep masks, including indoor masking, on while meeting strangers in crowded indoor settings.

    “Elderly and people with severe medical conditions are advised to stay away from such gatherings, as even an Omicron infection is known to destabilise them, leading to severe disease and bad outcomes. India has achieved a high degree of adult vaccination coverage which has, along with immunity due to natural infection, provided a large degree of protection so far.”

    He said that Covid is still evolving, and the world will see different waves. “Covid is not yet over,” he added.

    The Omicron variant and its sub-variants are famous for their immunity-escaping properties. The new variant has not only spread fast in Belgium but has been reported in Germany, France, Denmark and UK, apart from the US.

    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also described BF.7 as the most concerning variant and has shown a positive growth rate compared to the BA.5 variant.

    Experts said that, as with most newer variants of concern, this new variant seems more transmissible than Omicron and other Omicron subvariant that appeared before it. Though, the severity of the disease the new variant will cause is still not known.

    Briefly: 

    New Omicron variant BF.7 has been detected in India. It is described as an Omicron spawn
    The new variant has immunity-escaping properties
    The new variant swept through many provinces of China after it was first detected in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 
    China had to announce fresh lockdown and travel restrictions
    BF.7 has also been detected in the US, UK, Belgium, Germany, France and other European countries
    Experts have advised caution as we are approaching festival time, suggest following Covid-appropriate behaviour

    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the festival season, India has detected a highly infectious Omicron variant BF.7, said to be behind the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in China, the US and other European countries.

    Officials said the first case of BF.7, described as ‘Omicron spawn,’ has been detected by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research centre. 

    The variant, BA.5.2.1.7 or BF.7 for short, is a spinoff of the Omicron subvariant BA.5, which is currently the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the US and other countries.

    “We are continuing to monitor the situation to see whether this variant turns out to be more virulent and could lead to a fresh surge in India,” an official told The New Indian Express. 

    The new variant, which swept through China less than a week after it was first identified in Northwest China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was highly infectious and showed greater transmissibility. After the new variant was detected on October 4, China announced fresh lockdowns and travel restrictions.

    Officials said they also monitor the number of hospitalisations and deaths in the country.

    “So far, there is nothing to worry about, but people must continue to follow Covid appropriate behaviour ahead of the festival time,” the official added. 

    India is consistently reporting 2,000 Covid cases, said NC Krishnaprasad, a Covid data analyst from Kerala, adding that certain states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, have shown a hike in cases in the past few weeks.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also warned about the new variant.

    According to Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association (IMA) Covid-19 task force, “BF.7 is the name given to a great-grandson of BA.5, which is a major sub-lineage or descendant of Omicron.”

    “These are called immune escape variants, which means they can infect people who had been vaccinated or past infected,” he added.

    He said with the festive season approaching, people must follow standard precautions, the most important of which is to keep masks, including indoor masking, on while meeting strangers in crowded indoor settings.

    “Elderly and people with severe medical conditions are advised to stay away from such gatherings, as even an Omicron infection is known to destabilise them, leading to severe disease and bad outcomes. India has achieved a high degree of adult vaccination coverage which has, along with immunity due to natural infection, provided a large degree of protection so far.”

    He said that Covid is still evolving, and the world will see different waves. “Covid is not yet over,” he added.

    The Omicron variant and its sub-variants are famous for their immunity-escaping properties. The new variant has not only spread fast in Belgium but has been reported in Germany, France, Denmark and UK, apart from the US.

    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also described BF.7 as the most concerning variant and has shown a positive growth rate compared to the BA.5 variant.

    Experts said that, as with most newer variants of concern, this new variant seems more transmissible than Omicron and other Omicron subvariant that appeared before it. Though, the severity of the disease the new variant will cause is still not known.

    Briefly: 

    New Omicron variant BF.7 has been detected in India. It is described as an Omicron spawn
    The new variant has immunity-escaping properties
    The new variant swept through many provinces of China after it was first detected in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 
    China had to announce fresh lockdown and travel restrictions
    BF.7 has also been detected in the US, UK, Belgium, Germany, France and other European countries
    Experts have advised caution as we are approaching festival time, suggest following Covid-appropriate behaviour

  • Very few recombinant variants of coronavirus have been found in India: INSACOG 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Based on genome-sequencing analysis, the Indian SARS-COV-2 Genomics Consortia (INSACOG) has said very few recombinant variants of the coronavirus have been found in the country and none of those has shown either increased transmission, locally or otherwise, nor were they associated with severe disease or hospitalisation.

    INSACOG, in its weekly bulletin of April 11 that was released on Wednesday, said the incidences of suspected recombinants and the possible public health relevance are being closely monitored.

    It said a total of 2,40,570 samples have been sequenced till now.

    “Based on genome sequencing analysis, very few recombinant variants have been discovered in India. So far, none showed either increased transmission (locally or otherwise) or was associated with severe disease or hospitalisation,” it said.

    On the global scenario, the INSACOG said two recombinant variants — XD and XE — are being closely monitored worldwide.

    XD, which has an Omicron S gene incorporated into a Delta genome, is found primarily in France.

    “XE is a BA. 1/BA.2 recombinant, with the majority of the genome including the S gene belonging to BA.2.XE shows slightly higher transmission rate. XE also shows a higher growth rate above that of BA.2; however, this finding requires further confirmation,” the INSACOG said.

    At the prime minister’s meeting with chief ministers, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said one case of XK/XM was found in Maharashtra, one case of XJ was detected in Rajasthan and a case each of the XJ and XE recombinant versions of Omicron has been found in the country.

  • Experts watch China situation, say India won’t be hit by new Covid variant

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Omicron’s BA2.2 variant is creating havoc in China, but experts from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) who are closely watching it, opine that India is safe. There may be no reason to panic until a new variant comes along which behaves very differently from Omicron, which triggered the third wave, they say.

    While there are reports that a mutated version of Omicron’s BA.2 sub-lineage, called BA2.2, has been found in some parts of China, experts in India say the characteristics of BA.2 and BA2.2 appear similar, and there is no change in the clinical symptoms of the sub-lineage. “India was already dominated by the BA.2 variant, as were Karnataka’s third wave cases. With a high level of vaccination and infection combination, there is no reason for the state to worry. However, this virus tends to throw surprises, so wearing of masks, following Covid-appropriate behaviour and ensuring maximum vaccination with both doses and a precautionary dose is the key,” Dr V Ravi, nodal officer, Nimhans, INSACOG, told TNIE.

    Several experts said India doesn’t have to worry unless a new variant with characteristics different from Omicron, arrives. However, Dr Jacob John, former professor at CMC Vellore, and renowned virologist, says the chance of another variant in India is highly unlikely. He explains that China’s “zero-Covid” strategy, which uses mass testing and lockdowns to crush any hint of an outbreak, may not have worked with Omicron.

    “Omicron’s BA.1 and BA.2 lineages have infected a majority of India’s population and our vaccination coverage has been very good. With infection-vaccination combined immunity, there is very little chance of another variant coming in. We have already crossed the river. Mutations happen when immunity is low and the spread is fast,” Dr John says.

    However, experts warn that the country should focus on being vigilant and sequencing should not stop. Dr Giridhara R Babu, epidemiologist and public health expert, tweeted on Tuesday, “Two highest priorities have not been addressed so far. Repeating myself again. Vaccination helps, not the end game in itself. Diverting all resources only to vaccines wont help. A global COVID19 control program is quintessential. A revised case definition should be part of this.”

  • Scientists analyse Omicron variant’s lineages, reasons behind its low severity

    By Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Scientists across the world, including INSACOG, a consortium of 28 laboratories in India, are closely monitoring lineages of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which has an unusual array of mutations its predecessors did not have.

    While there have been several theories on the reason for high transmission and its multiple mutations, microbiologist Dr Gagandeep Kang, in a recent webinar, said though Omicron has the potential to mutate  and transmit really fast, it does not lead to severity, like Delta did. This is because of a phenomenon called ‘epistasis’, where the background of mutations influences how genes actually work.

    “We got really lucky with Omicron because of  epistasis. We wound up with the virus while it was capable of immune evasion of a level we have never seen before. But it did not result in the severity that we saw before,” Dr Kang said at the webinar ‘Omicron: Enigma or End’. 

    Scientists believe it is still an enigma. Virologist Dr Jacob John had earlier told TNIE that to know under what conditions Omicron arose, might help science to understand the risk of new variants emerging, and suggest steps to minimise it.

    According to a senior doctor who is also part of Karnataka’s genome sequencing committee, scientists are working on three theories behind Omicron’s arrival. One is that the researchers might have simply missed a series of mutations that eventually led to Omicron.

    Alternatively, Dr Angelique Coetzee, Chairperson, South Africa, says it is possible that the variant might have evolved mutations in one person, as part of a long-term infection. The other theory is it could have emerged unseen in other animal hosts, such as mice or rats, Dr John says. “Omicron is not fathered, or mothered, by Wuhan-D614G, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Kappa or Mu.” According to him, Omicron’s immediate parentage is not known but it has some distant connection with Wuhan-D614G, which began the pandemic.

    The World Health Organisation is also closely tracking the BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant. Though all the sub-lineages are closely related genetically, each features mutations that could alter how they behave. However, Dr V Ravi, virologist, in an earlier interview with TNIE, had said that BA.1 is missing one of three target genes used in a common PCR test and is easier to identify, but BA.2, sometimes known as a “stealth” sub-variant, does not have the same missing target gene. 

    It is yet to be seen if BA.2 alone can cause another wave, and researchers are now working to find out if BA.2 can cause infections in those who have already been infected with BA.1.

  • New Covid variant in France not a worry right now: Experts

    By Express News Service

    BENGALURU: The world grapples with a massive uptick in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases caused by Omicron, the new variant of concern, Southern France has reported another variant and experts argue that though it’s not a worry at the moment, it’s something that needs to be watched closely.

    “It is very obvious by now that new mutations will continue to happen and there will be many variants of Omicron or any other variant which can come. Delta has 108 sub-variants. They keep on churning. It’s too early to say anything on this variant,” said Dr Vishal Rao, member, Committee for Covid-19 whole-genome sequencing.

    According to several reports, in South France at least 12 people have tested positive for the new variant, called IHU, that purportedly has “atypical combination”. Dr Vishal said initial claims from French scientists are that the IHU variant is said to have 46 mutations and 37 deletions. Taking to Twitter, Dr Vinod Scaria, senior scientist at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, says, “A lot of discussion about B.1.640.2 reported from Southern France had been on the WHO watchlist for quite some time (Nov 2021). Index case seemingly was from Cameroon (doesn’t mean it originated there) Many of the mutations are shared with VoCs.” 

    However, Dr Scaria says though it predates Omicron, sequences have not grown rapidly. “We don’t know whether the increasing cases in South France are associated with the new variant. There is nothing to panic or worry too much at the moment, given the evidence. But clearly something that needs to be watched closely in the coming weeks.”

    Interestingly, Bengaluru’s Strand Life Sciences, a bioinformatics company has created a Covid Mutation Miner tool that makes it possible by indexing CORD-19 — a free resource of more than 280,000 scholarly articles about the novel coronavirus.

  • Omicron is the Usain Bolt among SARS-CoV-2 variants: Expert

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: With the emergence of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19, eminent virologist and nodal officer the INSACOG lab at NIMHANS, Dr V Ravi, who also heads the genome sequencing committee, says that the answer to whether the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) is doing its job, is a resounding ‘Yes’. It is important that sequencing is done to pick up the variant quickly and the labs are doing just that, he stressed.

    What does the finding of the Omicron variant mean to India?It means three things — a) Reminder that Covid is still around and everybody has to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour; b) It’s nature’s way of reminding you to take two doses of vaccine; c) Nobody is safe until everybody is safe. We live in a global village. Vaccine access to countries that do not have access should definitely be given.

    What makes Omicron different from Delta?It is different from all other variants for the simple reason that it carries mutations from Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta in one bag. In fact, here’s a candidate for the first time in the last nine month’s that’s challenging the Delta variant. Omicron is like Usain Bolt amongst all the SARS-COV2 variants which can spread faster than the others, primarily because it took advantage of all the other variants.

    How concerned should we be about this variant’s mutations?Credible data within Africa showed that from early November, cases from single digit percentage jumped 60-80% in all genomes. Delta is considered seven times more infectious than its predecessor but even that did not rise in such fashion. The virus will be isolated in the next one week. Once we have it, then cell culture experiments comparing infectivity of variants will be done and then we will know how much more infectious this is.

    Secondly, the other way of establishing infectivity is by determining the R-naught value (how many people get infected from one person). Also, this variant has 50 to 52 mutations, of which about 28-32 are in the spike protein and 10 to 12 are in the region where the virus binds to the human cell. Omicron is the best key that we have today.

    What will be the severity of illness?An honest answer is nobody knows, as there are no published scientific reports yet. Overall, it all looks like the illness spectrum is like Covid caused by any other variant. A majority are mildly symptomatic, a few have mild to moderate symptoms. No deaths have been reported so far among those with severe symptoms.

    Fingers are being pointed at INSACOG for not sampling enough?In this pandemic, whenever there is an outbreak, the first to be blamed is the virus and the next is the virologist. Alpha was declared as a variant of concern in late November or early December. The Centre set up INSACOG on December 25, the NIMHANS lab in Bengaluru identified the Alpha variant for the first time on December 26. INSACOG identified the Delta variant for the world. Two days after Omicron was declared as a VoC, Karnataka picked it up. Wasn’t that fast enough? Has it missed a variant? Why should every sample be sequenced?  Wearing masks and taking vaccines is the answer.

    The Bengaluru doctor had no travel history. Is Omicron already in the community?I can only tell you that it is very reminiscent of the first wave — the Nanjangud case with no travel history. There was a missing link. Here too, there is a missing link. We will have situations like this. If this missing link had entered India, or Bengaluru or Karnataka sometime late October or early November, we should have seen hundreds of clusters. A single swallow doesn’t herald the summer. If, in multiple cities or districts you see it with similar background, then I would say it’s in the community.

  • INTERVIEW | Omicron is the Usain Bolt among SARS-CoV-2 variants: Head of genome sequencing committee

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: With the emergence of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19, eminent virologist and nodal officer the INSACOG lab at NIMHANS, Dr V Ravi, who also heads the genome sequencing committee, says that the answer to whether the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) is doing its job, is a resounding ‘Yes’. It is important that sequencing is done to pick up the variant quickly and the labs are doing just that, he stressed.

    What does the finding of the Omicron variant mean to India?

    It means three things — a) Reminder that Covid is still around and everybody has to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour; b) It’s nature’s way of reminding you to take two doses of vaccine; c) Nobody is safe until everybody is safe. We live in a global village. Vaccine access to countries that do not have access should definitely be given.

    What makes Omicron different from Delta?

    It is different from all other variants for the simple reason that it carries mutations from Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta in one bag. In fact, here’s a candidate for the first time in the last nine month’s that’s challenging the Delta variant. Omicron is like Usain Bolt amongst all the SARS-COV2 variants which can spread faster than the others, primarily because it took advantage of all the other variants.

    How concerned should we be about this variant’s mutations?

    Credible data within Africa showed that from early November, cases from single digit percentage jumped 60-80% in all genomes. Delta is considered seven times more infectious than its predecessor but even that did not rise in such fashion. The virus will be isolated in the next one week.

    Once we have it, then cell culture experiments comparing infectivity of variants will be done and then we will know how much more infectious this is.

    Secondly, the other way of establishing infectivity is by determining the R-naught value (how many people get infected from one person).

    Also, this variant has 50 to 52 mutations, of which about 28-32 are in the spike protein and 10 to 12 are in the region where the virus binds to the human cell. Omicron is the best key that we have today.

    What will be the severity of illness?

    An honest answer is nobody knows, as there are no published scientific reports yet. Overall, it all looks like the illness spectrum is like Covid caused by any other variant.

    A majority are mildly symptomatic, a few have mild to moderate symptoms. No deaths have been reported so far among those with severe symptoms.

    Fingers are being pointed at INSACOG for not sampling enough?

    In this pandemic, whenever there is an outbreak, the first to be blamed is the virus and the next is the virologist. Alpha was declared as a variant of concern in late November or early December.

    The Centre set up INSACOG on December 25, the NIMHANS lab in Bengaluru identified the Alpha variant for the first time on December 26. INSACOG identified the Delta variant for the world. Two days after Omicron was declared as a VoC, Karnataka picked it up.

    Wasn’t that fast enough? Has it missed a variant? Why should every sample be sequenced?  Wearing masks and taking vaccines is the answer.

    The Bengaluru doctor had no travel history. Is Omicron already in the community?

    I can only tell you that it is very reminiscent of the first wave — the Nanjangud case with no travel history. There was a missing link.

    Here too, there is a missing link. We will have situations like this. If this missing link had entered India, or Bengaluru or Karnataka sometime late October or early November, we should have seen hundreds of clusters.

    A single swallow doesn’t herald the summer. If, in multiple cities or districts you see it with similar background, then I would say it’s in the community.

  • Travel bans cannot curb spread of Omicron: Experts

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Travel bans in the light of detection of the new Omicron variant, are not a useful measure and their benefits are limited for a multitude of reasons, some experts say. From what we know of the pandemic, by the time a travel ban is implemented, the virus would already be in circulation in the country, said noted epidemiologist, vaccinologist and public health expert Dr Chandrakant Lahariya. A travel ban may only help delay the entry of the variant.

    “A key aspect is that if a travel ban is imposed for reporting new strains, it disincentivises the country which is documenting and reporting the variant honestly. They might stop reporting, fearing the economic impact of a ban. This is counterproductive,” Dr Lahariya explained.

    He added that countries that have imposed the ban, have already reported cases of the new variant. Moreover, the ban does not affect countries that have the variant in circulation, but have not reported it yet, causing the virus to enter other countries this way.

    In a thread on social media, Dr Giridhar Babu, epidemiologist and member of the Karnataka Covid Technical Advisory Committee, said Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong cannot be the only areas where Omicron has travelled. These areas probably have better surveillance and genomic sequencing and hence, have reported it in a timely manner. Absence of reporting is not absence of circulation, he cautioned.

    “Imposing travel curbs, restricting entry from a few countries is not going to prevent or control the spread of Omicron. It’s akin to closing a stable door after a horse has bolted. Instead, identify clusters of cases of recent origin and do genomic sequencing,” Dr Babu said. Dr Lahariya said the way forward is stronger surveillance at the port of entry, containment, testing and genomic sequencing.  

    There is no evidence that travel bans are effective, said Dr Vinod Scaria, genomics scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Institute Of Genomics And Integrative Biology, on twitter. He too said that in most cases, virus transmission would have already happened before the ban is imposed.

  • ‘It disincentivises the country which reported the variant’: Experts bat against travel bans to curb Omicron threat

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Travel bans in the light of detection of the new Omicron variant, are not a useful measure and their benefits are limited for a multitude of reasons, some experts say.

    From what we know of the pandemic, by the time a travel ban is implemented, the virus would already be in circulation in the country, said noted epidemiologist, vaccinologist and public health expert Dr Chandrakant Lahariya. A travel ban may only help delay the entry of the variant.

    “A key aspect is that if a travel ban is imposed for reporting new strains, it disincentivises the country which is documenting and reporting the variant honestly. They might stop reporting, fearing the economic impact of a ban. This is counterproductive,” Dr Lahariya explained.

    He added that countries that have imposed the ban, have already reported cases of the new variant. Moreover, the ban does not affect countries that have the variant in circulation, but have not reported it yet, causing the virus to enter other countries this way.

    In a thread on social media, Dr Giridhar Babu, epidemiologist and member of the Karnataka Covid Technical Advisory Committee, said Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong cannot be the only areas where Omicron has travelled. These areas probably have better surveillance and genomic sequencing and hence, have reported it in a timely manner. Absence of reporting is not absence of circulation, he cautioned.

    “Imposing travel curbs, restricting entry from a few countries is not going to prevent or control the spread of Omicron. It’s akin to closing a stable door after a horse has bolted. Instead, identify clusters of cases of recent origin and do genomic sequencing,” Dr Babu said. Dr Lahariya said the way forward is stronger surveillance at the port of entry, containment, testing and genomic sequencing.  

    There is no evidence that travel bans are effective, said Dr Vinod Scaria, genomics scientist at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Institute Of Genomics And Integrative Biology, on twitter. He too said that in most cases, virus transmission would have already happened before the ban is imposed.