Omicron: High Spike Makes Protein ‘O’ More Infectious: Expert | Bhubaneswar News – Times of India

Bhubaneswar: Health experts said that the rapid rate of its transmission omicron The variant is due to its much higher number of spike proteins (37), which causes the virus to bind to receptors in the host more quickly than its delta counterpart.
He said that not wearing a mask properly or not wearing a mask or gap near the nose, but coming in close contact with and interacting with a person can lead to Kovid-19 infection.
In addition, the aerosol can stick to the mask and can easily spread the virus if handled incorrectly. In the case of Omicron, transmission is more pronounced due to higher mutations in the spike protein. “The oomicron variant with multiple mutations in the spike protein is showing hyper-transmissibility. The virus multiplies rapidly in the upper airway and thus exits through the nose and mouth. Stringent COVID practices are needed to contain the spread,” said Sanghamitra Pati, Director, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Center (rmrc,
He said that air tight masks are necessary to prevent the entry of the virus. Close gatherings should also be avoided especially in indoor setups. Experts said that if one wears a mask properly leaving no gaps around the protected area (mouth and nose) and stays away from gatherings, the virus cannot travel and enter a person’s body.
Ajay Parida, director of the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), said that Omicron has two variants BA.1 and BA.2. The BA.2 variant is more permeable, which means it can more easily enter the host via the ACE2 receptor, they said.
Doctor Mrinalini DarswalThe Odisha cadre IAS officer, who is pursuing his doctoral study on public health at Harvard University, cited a study from South Africa to say that Omicron is 36.5% more transmissible than the delta and that pre-Covid infection and vaccination destroys immunity. Home infections caused by Omicron are about 16%, compared to about 10% in Delta’s case. Hence there is a higher chance of transmission to family members, she said.

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