A new variant of Covid Omicron has arrived in neighboring India. The variant was identified on Thursday (December 2) in Karnataka province. According to Indian media, one of the victims was a 66-year-old man and the other a 48-year-old woman. However, their other identities were not disclosed. It has been informed that all precautionary measures have been taken by keeping the victims in isolation and conducting tracing.
Meanwhile, so far this variant has been caught in 29 countries of the world. Research is underway to see if this variant has a stronger effect on the body than other variants. According to the World Health Organization, the answers to these questions will be known in the next few days.
In such a situation, two years after the outbreak of Corona, the whole world is worried about this new variant. Different parts of the world, including India, have imposed restrictions on communication with other countries. Because, those who have been infected with Covid before, they may be infected with Omicron again. Although it is not yet clear how contagious this variant is. The World Health Organization (WHO) says RT-PCR tests are able to detect this variant quickly. Research is underway to determine the effectiveness of the Covid vaccine against the new virus, the agency said.
Incidentally, the global pandemic Coronavirus is developing new strains before it is two years old. On the eve of its second birthday in December, Corona's brand new type of Omicron has once again engulfed the entire world in a horrible sheet of massive infection.
The Omicron variant is infected faster than the Covid's Delta variant. Epidemiologists are giving such an indication. This is the first time that research has been done on the type of Omicron infection that has been found in South Africa. As a result, vigilance and preparation is going on in the countries of the world.
Like the multifaceted majesty of danger, the types of corona have a name. The name Coronavirus itself originates from the Latin word corona, which means crown or necklace. The word corona itself comes from the Greek word, meaning garland or necklace. The name refers to the characteristic presence of virion (contagious form of the virus) through an electron microscope. The huge tubular surface of the virion has projected edges, which create the memory of the crown. Its morphology is made up of viral spike papilloma, which is basically a protein located on the surface of the virus.
Meanwhile, a new strain of Coronavirus, Omicron, which has recently created a new terror around the world, was first identified in South Africa on November 25. In just a few days, the deadly variant spread rapidly in several European countries, including Hong Kong, Israel, and even Australia. South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, are also at high risk due to the potential for new injuries.
According to pathologists or epidemiologists, Omicron is the second most contagious Covid strain to be found after Delta. However, there is a subtle politics behind the naming of this new variant.
Initially, when a new Covid variant was found from a country, the variant was named after that country. However, there was widespread controversy over the WHO's naming system. And then the World Health Organization walks the alternative path of naming.
The newly discovered strains were first identified by the letters of the Greek alphabet. Alpha, beta, delta, gamma - that's how the list went. In accordance with this rule, the strain found in Colombia in September of this year was named ‘Miu’ which is probably the twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet. But according to the calculations, the name of the newly discovered variant in South Africa should have been named after the thirteenth Greek letter 'New'. However, in naming the B1.1.529 variant available in South Africa, WHO have chosen the 15th letter Omicron, excluding the new letter "G" or "Shi".
But why are these two letters omitted? No, there is no politics hidden in the letter 'New'. Rather, the letter has been omitted because of its phonetic similarity to ‘new’ or new, for fear of creating disagreement. However, there are clear political reasons behind the omission of the letter 'Shi' or 'G'. The matter has also been acknowledged by the top scientist and epidemiologist of the variant naming panel, Martin Culdorf. Yes, the World Health Organization has avoided the letter because of its resemblance to the name of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The Corona pandemic was "born" in China at the end of 2019. The virus then spreads slowly throughout the world. Several heads of state, including then-US President Donald Trump and Bolsonaro, blamed China at the time.
Coronavirus has been dubbed the "Chinese virus" for political reasons, avoiding pathology. The theory of virus transmission came up more than once in biological weapons laboratories. It was also said that China's political conspiracy.
As a result, Asian expatriates have become victims of social violence around the world since the beginning of the political debate over the virus. Especially in America, the people of Southeast Asia continue to be terribly affected. The World Health Organization has taken such a tactical step to stop that violence. However, while WHO’s decision was hailed in the scientific community, it is still debated in the political arena. Many are also complaining that China has been discriminated against. But some politicians and Netizens have resolved this controversy
The main challenge now is to prevent this particularly contagious variant.
Incidentally, in the context of the political controversy surrounding the global pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) began identifying new species in Greek letters. The new naming system was announced on May 31 in favor of the organization. The type that has been identified in the UK has been named 'Alpha'. In South Africa, the corona's identification is known as 'beta'. The variant identified in Brazil has been named 'Gamma'. The type of corona that wreaked havoc across India in the second wave has been dubbed 'Delta'.
However, this did not stop the debate. On the contrary, since there are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet, a new question arises, if more than 24 types of corona are identified, how will the naming be done? For that reason, the World Health Organization has announced a new method of naming in the future.
Maria Van Kerkhov, technical director of the World Health Organization, said: Therefore, no country should be discriminated against for identifying and reporting the type of corona. New names are not being used in scientific names. Rather this simple method of naming has been introduced for the convenience of understanding. Because it is difficult to pronounce, there is a risk of calling new variants by scientific names.