Omicron was not created in the human body? New facts on the origin of the variant

Scientists have been speculating for weeks on how the Omikron was created. One of the most probable theories is that SARS-CoV-2 mutated for many months in the human body (an African inhabitant) with reduced immunity. The prolonged infection resulted in the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus. The latest research puts this hypothesis into question. Scientists say Omikron may have arisen in a mouse population.

1. There are many theories explaining where Omikron came from
2. Among them there is the one saying that the variant comes from animals, but so far it has been met with rather skepticism by scientists
3. This can be changed by the latest findings of Chinese researchers who argue that the coronavirus “jumped” from human to mouse, and when it mutated, returned to humans as an extremely infectious variant
4. More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page

Omicron appeared “out of nowhere”

The new coronavirus variant was identified less than two months ago. It was discovered in a sample taken in the first half of November from a citizen of Botswana. Scientists were shocked – it turned out that they were dealing with a completely new sequence of the virus, unlike the previous ones. No intermediate variants have been identified that would suggest that an aggressive strain appears on the horizon. Many researchers stated outright that Omicron appeared “out of nowhere”.

Analyzes of the viral genome confirmed the first concerns – the strain contains an exceptionally large number of mutations (over 50), most of which are found in the S protein. This means that the variant is extremely infectious.

Within a few weeks, Omikron took over almost the entire world, displacing the dominant variants in many countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) quickly placed the strain on the VoC list. variants of concern), advising you to take special care.

1. See also: Most dangerous COVID-19 variants. How many are there?

Vaccine manufacturers have started research to check how Omikron responds to antibodies produced by subsequent doses of vaccination. The conclusions were not too optimistic: the new variant eludes the developed immunity, although the protection against it increases significantly after taking the booster.

The rest of the article under the video.

Where did Omikron come from? The three most popular theories

For several weeks, scientists have been trying to determine how the SARS-CoV-2 virus turned into such an infectious form as Omikron. Among the theories about the origin of the variant, three stand out. The first is that the strain arose in a population where both testing and sequencing for the coronavirus is low. This would explain why no one noticed that a new, dangerous variant had emerged, and when the first case was detected, it was too late – the Omicron had already spread.

1. See also: How are the various variants of the coronavirus tested?

The second hypothesis concerns the aforementioned mutation of the coronavirus in a weakened human body. It has been speculated that the virus mutated in the infected human body with reduced immunity, possibly HIV positive or taking immunosuppressive drugs. This person was supposed to carry the coronavirus for several months, and it wasn’t until it evolved into a new form that she infected others with it.

The third theory is about animal origin. Some researchers argue that the Omicron evolved in an animal and only later moved to humans. It was this theory that was the basis for scientists from China, who have just presented the results of their analyzes.

A new variant was born in rodents?

Chinese Academy of Science researchers prove that the coronavirus “jumped” from human to mouse, and when it evolved, returned to the human body again. In their opinion, SARS-CoV-2 in the variant known as B.1.1. he jumped from human to mouse in mid-2020. It took him over a year to mutate to a new variant to return to man in a changed form in the last quarter of 2021.

1. Check: Ranking of the most dangerous zoonotic viruses. Can they trigger another pandemic?

Chinese researchers identified 45 point mutations in the Omicron RNA, which they believe appeared after the variant split off from the last known common ancestor in humans. Following previous research that viruses tend to create a large number of mutations at certain bases (depending on what animal hosts them), they identified sequences in various SARS-CoV-2 animal hosts. It turned out that the frequency of point mutations in the Omicron not only differs from those that evolved in man, but it is peculiar to mice.

In addition, several mutations of the virus found in the S protein, which play a role in causing SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, have been found to help the virus bind more closely to its target receptor in mice.

The results, published in the Journal of Genetics and Genomics, aroused a lot of excitement among researchers from all over the world. One of them, Matt Ridley, wondered on Twitter in which mice the coronavirus evolved: were they house mice or those in laboratories? One of the authors of the study, Dr. Wenfeng Qian, commented on this question, saying that the Omicron was most likely developed in a wild population of mice.

The researcher also added that he doubts that any laboratory would use the B.1.1 line in experiments with mice, which is separated from the Omicron by as many as seven mutations. “They would most likely use the SARS-CoV-2 strain that scientists sequenced at the start of the pandemic, known as Wuhan-Hu-1,” he said.

1. Also read: Omikron is the cousin of the Wuhan virus, which will “let us burn”

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