Omicron variant warning: The surprising age youre most likely to get Covid mutation

Omicron variant: Doctor warns of risk of reinfection

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Scientists first discovered Omicron in South Africa after the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) sequenced infections from Botswana. The variant has since swept Europe, and cases have increased exponentially in some countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other national agencies are currently analysing far Omicron.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, provided the first significant progression update.

She told the Reuters news agency that she received seven patients with the variant on November 18.

In her experience, she said, most of those catching the disease are aged 40 or younger.

But their symptoms haven’t sparked much concern, as Dr Coetzee noted most have been mild so far.

She said the “most predominant clinical complaint” was “fatigue for one or two days”.

Headaches and bodily aches and pains accompanied them, and signs “related to normal viral infection”.

Although there is little concern amongst adults right now, the NICD has noted rising hospitalisation rates amongst infants aged under two.

A hospital in Tshwane, in the South African province of Gauteng, documented 52 infant admissions between November 14 and 28.

That made them the most represented age group of the 452 total admitted during the period.

So far, however, doctors haven’t had the chance to identify whether their infections were predominantly Omicron or not.

There is additional uncertainty around whether they had Covid, with flu cases also rising in Tshwane.

Regardless, the number of children presenting with severe disease was still lower than in over 60s.

As investigations continue into the new variant, scientists have warned it could become the dominant strain.

Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the US national public health agency, told CNN there is a chance it could pip Delta.

She said early data suggests it “may well be a more transmissible variant than Delta”.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) concurred with Dr Walensky in a recent statement.

Representatives said Omicron could “cause over half of all SARS-CoV-2 infections in the EU and the European Economic Area within the next few months”.

The agency added that preliminary data shows a “substantial advantage over the Delta variant”.

Experts have all warned Omicron requires more investigation before they can draw concrete conclusions.

The EU has reported 352 cases so far, and a further 20 have tested positive in the US.

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