The B.1.1.529 variant of the Covid classified as "worrying" by the WHO and named "Omicron"

Europe 1 with AFP 8:04 p.m., November 26, 2021

The new B.1.1.529 variant of Covid, detected for the first time in southern Africa, was classified Friday as "worrying" by the World Health Organization (WHO), and named "Omicron".

"The B.1.1.529 variant was first reported to WHO by South Africa on November 24, 2021. This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are of concern," said the group. experts tasked by the WHO to follow the evolution of Covid-19.

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First detection in South Africa

According to this Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution, the first known confirmed infection of Omicron comes from a sample taken on November 9.

In recent weeks, infections in South Africa have increased sharply, coinciding with the detection of the new variant.

It has since been detected also in Israel on a person returning from Malawi, Botswana, Belgium and Hong Kong.

"We understand that people are worried. The good thing is that we have surveillance systems around the world to detect these variants very quickly", underlined Ms. Van Kerkhove, calling on the population to reduce their exposure, following in particular barrier gestures, and to be vaccinated.

Never has a new variant caused so much concern in the world since Delta.

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"An increased risk of infection"

To facilitate public debates on variants, the WHO names the variants using the names of the letters of the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, etc.), which are more accessible to a non-scientific audience and which makes it possible to avoid stigmatizing the country where this variant was initially discovered.

According to the WHO expert group, preliminary data suggests that there is "an increased risk of reinfection" with Omicron, compared to other variants of concern.

All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 which is responsible for Covid-19, mutate over time. Most mutations have little or no effect on the properties of the virus. However, certain mutations can affect the properties of a virus and affect, for example, how easily it spreads, the severity of the disease it causes, or the effectiveness of vaccines and drugs.

According to the WHO, a SARS-CoV-2 variant is considered to be of concern when associated with one or more changes, such as increased transmissibility or virulence, decreased effectiveness of health measures public and social or diagnostic tools, vaccines and treatments available.

Up to now, there have been 4 other worrying variants: Delta, which represents almost all of the cases sequenced in the world, Alpha, Beta and Gamma.