And according to what was stated in a report published by the “Live Mint” website, the Corona virus continues to develop and mutate, which prompts the question of what will be the next form of the virus.
For her part, Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist and technical lead for the fight against corona at the World Health Organization, said: “We do not have the same predictive power as we currently have with regard to influenza.”
To provide more clarification on her statement, Dr. Maria posted a tweet on the Twitter platform, saying: “The world needs more data about the global influenza surveillance and response system, meaning that there is a “predictability” of flu virus mutations expected to spread seasonally. But there is no seasonal forecast for the Corona virus yet, as it develops differently, noting that globally, there is a need for integrated surveillance for respiratory diseases.
More mutations
While the Associated Press reported that experts do not know what the next variables will look like or how the epidemic might develop, but they say there is no guarantee that Omicron’s consequences will cause milder disease cases or that current vaccines will work against it.
“The faster the omicron spreads, the higher the chances of mutations, which can lead to more variants,” said Leonardo Martinez, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University.
“Long-term and persistent infection seems to favor the most likely hypothesis for the breeding of new species,” said Stuart Campbell-Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University, adding that “the opportunity for new variants to emerge only exists when there is a widespread infection.” Extremely”.
Because the omicron mutant appears to cause less serious disease than the delta mutant, its behavior has raised hope that it could be the beginning of a trend that will eventually make the virus milder like the common cold, the statement said.
Some experts argue that a milder virus is likely, especially since mutations do not spread widely, but viruses do not always become less deadly over time.
Ray explained that, for example, the mutant can achieve its main goal, which is replication and reproduction, if the infected initially had mild symptoms, and the virus was transmitted from the infected to others through interaction, and then the condition of the infected person becomes very severe at a later time.
Gradual improvement in immune evasion helps the virus survive long-term. When SARS-CoV-2 first started spreading, there were no vaccines or natural immunity. But infections and vaccines have given at least some immunity to much of the world’s population, so the mutant is the virus’s attempts to adapt.
For this reason, experts have urged that vaccination be expanded now, while available vaccines are still effective.
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