The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its Variants
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has been circulating among the world population for 3 years, infecting hundreds of millions of people. Numerous reports from all over the world indicate that the majority of infections are caused by the Omicron variant and its subvariants, which predominate over all the pr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Eco-vector
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Клиническая практика |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.eco-vector.com/clinpractice/article/viewFile/322036/pdf |
| _version_ | 1797261482756407296 |
|---|---|
| author | Sergey G. Sсherbak Dmitry A. Vologzhanin Aleksandr S. Golota Andrey M. Sarana Stanislav V. Makarenko |
| author_facet | Sergey G. Sсherbak Dmitry A. Vologzhanin Aleksandr S. Golota Andrey M. Sarana Stanislav V. Makarenko |
| author_sort | Sergey G. Sсherbak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has been circulating among the world population for 3 years, infecting hundreds of millions of people. Numerous reports from all over the world indicate that the majority of infections are caused by the Omicron variant and its subvariants, which predominate over all the previously emerged variants. The genome of the Omicron strain has accumulated dozens of mutations that increase the viruss adaptability and cause the emergence of new variants and subvariants with the increased contagiousness, transmissibility, and ability to evade the immune response. This compromises the protection provided by vaccines or the humoral immunity induced by previous infections. Although the biology of SARS-CoV-2 is well understood, its ability to infect, replicate, and spread in a population depends on the specific immune context during different periods of the pandemic. It is assumed that new variants arise as a result of chronic infection in immunocompromised individuals. The intralineage recombination is an opportunity for the virus to gain phenotypic advantages from distantly related circulating variants. The last of the subvariants of the Omicron variant, named Kraken due to its unprecedentedly high transmissibility, is a descendant of the recombinant line. The virus is constantly evolving in the direction of evading immune neutralization by vaccines, therefore, a constant work is underway to develop new, more effective vaccines and other antiviral agents. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:41:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-13b75474e7f34d388b698e9f6c60659a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2220-3095 2618-8627 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:41:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Eco-vector |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Клиническая практика |
| spelling | doaj.art-13b75474e7f34d388b698e9f6c60659a2024-03-15T11:13:44ZengEco-vectorКлиническая практика2220-30952618-86272023-10-01143506810.17816/clinpract32203678393The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its VariantsSergey G. Sсherbak0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5036-1259Dmitry A. Vologzhanin1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1176-794XAleksandr S. Golota2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5632-3963Andrey M. Sarana3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3198-8990Stanislav V. Makarenko4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1595-6668Saint Petersburg City Hospital No 40 of Kurortny DistrictSaint Petersburg City Hospital No 40 of Kurortny DistrictSaint Petersburg City Hospital No 40 of Kurortny DistrictSaint Petersburg State UniversitySaint Petersburg City Hospital No 40 of Kurortny DistrictThe SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has been circulating among the world population for 3 years, infecting hundreds of millions of people. Numerous reports from all over the world indicate that the majority of infections are caused by the Omicron variant and its subvariants, which predominate over all the previously emerged variants. The genome of the Omicron strain has accumulated dozens of mutations that increase the viruss adaptability and cause the emergence of new variants and subvariants with the increased contagiousness, transmissibility, and ability to evade the immune response. This compromises the protection provided by vaccines or the humoral immunity induced by previous infections. Although the biology of SARS-CoV-2 is well understood, its ability to infect, replicate, and spread in a population depends on the specific immune context during different periods of the pandemic. It is assumed that new variants arise as a result of chronic infection in immunocompromised individuals. The intralineage recombination is an opportunity for the virus to gain phenotypic advantages from distantly related circulating variants. The last of the subvariants of the Omicron variant, named Kraken due to its unprecedentedly high transmissibility, is a descendant of the recombinant line. The virus is constantly evolving in the direction of evading immune neutralization by vaccines, therefore, a constant work is underway to develop new, more effective vaccines and other antiviral agents.https://journals.eco-vector.com/clinpractice/article/viewFile/322036/pdfcoronavirussars-cov-2omicron«kraken»mutationinfectivitytransmissibilityability to evade the immune responsevaccineantiviral agents |
| spellingShingle | Sergey G. Sсherbak Dmitry A. Vologzhanin Aleksandr S. Golota Andrey M. Sarana Stanislav V. Makarenko The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its Variants Клиническая практика coronavirus sars-cov-2 omicron «kraken» mutation infectivity transmissibility ability to evade the immune response vaccine antiviral agents |
| title | The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its Variants |
| title_full | The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its Variants |
| title_fullStr | The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its Variants |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its Variants |
| title_short | The Omicron Strain of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus and Its Variants |
| title_sort | omicron strain of the sars cov 2 coronavirus and its variants |
| topic | coronavirus sars-cov-2 omicron «kraken» mutation infectivity transmissibility ability to evade the immune response vaccine antiviral agents |
| url | https://journals.eco-vector.com/clinpractice/article/viewFile/322036/pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sergeygssherbak theomicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT dmitryavologzhanin theomicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT aleksandrsgolota theomicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT andreymsarana theomicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT stanislavvmakarenko theomicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT sergeygssherbak omicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT dmitryavologzhanin omicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT aleksandrsgolota omicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT andreymsarana omicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants AT stanislavvmakarenko omicronstrainofthesarscov2coronavirusanditsvariants |