Omicron detected in Uganda
The government has on Monday confirmed the presence of the new covid 19 variant , Omicron .
According to the Uganda Virus Research Institute UVRI the virus was confirmed after nine samples from travelers at Entebbe International Airport tested positive.
Prof Pontiano Kaleebu, the Executive Director of UVRI says the patients carrying the new variant had traveled from Nigeria and South Africa mainly. Prof Pontiano has however asked for calm saying the effects of this virus are not very different from the previous ones recorded.
“This variant spreads like any other COVID-19 variant we have seen. It has the same outcome as the delta and can be prevented the same way. People should not panic. They can prevent infection by wearing their masks, washing their hands frequently, and avoiding crowded places,” he said.
Omicron was first detected in South Africa in November, the Country has since seen a spike in COVID-19 infections since then.
The variant has since spread to over seven Southern Africa countries including Zimbabwe,Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi and Esthawi.
The Omicron Variant is feared to be more virulent and infectious due to the 32 mutations in its spike protein.
Omicron variant also known as Nomenclature is a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
On 26 November 2021, the World Health Organisation designated it as a variant of concern and named it after Omicron, the fifteenth letter in the Greek alphabet.
Omicron detected in Uganda
The variant has an unusually large number of mutations, several of which are novel,Mutations and a significant number of which affect the spike protein targeted by most COVID-19 vaccines at the time of discovering the Omicron variant.
This level of variation has led to concerns regarding its transmissibility, immune system evasion, and vaccine resistance.
As a result, the variant was quickly designated as being “of concern”, and travel restrictions were introduced by several countries like the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), United States of America to impose new travel bans and other measures. in an attempt to slow its international spread. However the variant has spread to over 50 countries by 7 December 2021.
