JTM: US Scientists Prove Antibodies After COVID-19 To Attack Healthy Cells
Photo: Reuters
Researchers from the Heart Institute in Los Angeles have shown that antibodies that appear in people who have had coronavirus pose a health hazard. The scientists shared the results of their work in an article in the Journal of Translational Medicine (JTM).
Danger of antibodies
Scientists from the United States warned that a few months after suffering from COVID-19, patients may form increased levels of antibodies that can malfunction. According to experts, in 177 medical workers who had been ill with coronavirus before the creation of vaccines, persistent antibodies were found within six months that have the ability to attack healthy cells of the body and cause chronic inflammation, damage to joints, skin and nervous system.
At the same time, earlier scientists at the Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen in Germany proved the uselessness of basic antibodies against the omicron strain of coronavirus. They noted a faster spread of this variant of infection than any previous one, and predicted its dominant role throughout the world.
New mutation COVID-19
On January 8, a new hybrid strain COVID-19 was recorded in Cyprus, which combines the features of the previously identified delta and omicron. The head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology at the University of Cyprus, Leontios Kostrikis, who previously headed the Scientific Advisory Council on Combating the Pandemic under the Ministry of Health of Cyprus, spoke about the features of this mutation.
We found a significant number of mutations that were previously only detected during cases of infection with the omicron strain
Leontios Kostrikis Head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology, University of Cyprus
Kostrikis added that the deltacron strain in Cyprus was found in 25 samples, 11 of which belong to patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The rest of the cases of infection were recorded in ordinary citizens of the republic.
The future of the deltacron strain
Honored Doctor of Russia, epidemiologist Gennady Onishchenko commented on the danger of a new hybrid strain of coronavirus. He stressed that the harm of deltacron will be assessed by scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Virus strains cannot interact with each other, they are created and come into being in the fight against us, and not among themselves. Most likely, here we can talk about the fact that those mutations that were in the predecessor of the omicron were preserved
Gennady Onishchenko Former Chief Sanitary Doctor of Russia
Onishchenko recalled that the most effective method of combating COVID-19 is vaccination and revaccination. The epidemiologist admitted that the coronavirus pandemic could end as early as May 2022.
The next “super mutant”
The ingress of new strains of COVID-19 into the animal environment can cause serious mutations of the virus and new outbreaks of the disease, said the chief profilactologist of the Ural Federal District, scientific director of the Society of Preventive Medicine Specialists, Doctor of Medical Sciences Sergei Tokarev and microbiologist, scientific director of the State Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums named after V. Mechnikov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vitaly Zverev.
30 mutations contains omicron strain COVID-19
Tokarev urged to monitor the omicron-strain in both humans and animals, since “with direct and reverse zoonotic transmissions, one day a certain super mutant may appear.” He added that the mutational potential is rich, so the pandemic may not end with the omicron. Zverev agreed with the opinion of his colleague and noted the mortal danger of new variants of infection.
Situation in Russia
Virologist, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist Anatoly Altstein predicted a record incidence in the country due to the omicron strain. He suggested that the number of detected cases of COVID-19 could exceed 100 thousand per day.
As of January 8, 16,568 new cases of coronavirus were detected in Russia. The total number of infections in 85 regions of the country since the beginning of the pandemic was 10,634,603. A day earlier, 16,735 patients with confirmed infection were recorded in Russia.
History of the omicron strain
On November 11, South Africa recorded a strain of coronavirus under the code B.1.1.529, which was designated by the Greek letter “omicron”. The country's health minister, Joe Paahla, said that those vaccinated against COVID-19 carry the new mutation easily. However, omicron is able to bypass the immunity of those who have recovered from other strains. The new mutation was found in a number of countries in Africa, Australia, Brazil, India, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, several European countries and in Russia.
