Sequencing the genome of a virus gives researchers information on how mutations can affect its transmissibility and virulence.
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Nearly all suicide-loss survivors experience guilt, wondering what they could have done to prevent it. But despite decades of research, experts struggle to identify risk factors and predict suicide.
Rapid antigen tests are easy to use and detect whether your body is shedding the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
(AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Kristen Haase, University of British Columbia and Don D. Sin, University of British Columbia
Rapid testing for COVID-19 is an extra safety measure that can help prevent spread of infection, and help you have a more normal holiday, especially if you are visiting vulnerable people.
South Africa is reporting a spike in COVID-19 cases.
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Cari van Schalkwyk, South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling & Analysis (SACEMA) ; Harry Moultrie, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and Juliet Pulliam, South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling & Analysis (SACEMA)
At this stage, we cannot say anything about the severity of cases with Omicron - either in primary or reinfections.
The key to rapid antigen testing is to test early in the course of COVID-19 infection, ideally several times 24 hours apart.
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Careful lab work will complement public health data as researchers worldwide focus on omicron, asking questions about contagiousness, severity of disease and whether vaccines hold up against it.
Claire Guinat, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Etthel Windels, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Sarah Nadeau, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
After a nose swab tests positive for a virus or bacteria, scientists can use the sample’s genetic sequence to figure out where and when the pathogen emerged and how fast it’s changing.
The omicron variant possesses numerous mutations in the spike protein, the knob-like protrusions (in red) that allow the virus to invade other cells.
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It’s too early to say whether the newly identified omicron variant is going to overtake delta. But particular mutations in the new strain have researchers deeply concerned.
There’s not enough evidence yet to support the AstraZeneca CEO’s statement. But it is theoretically plausible.
What not to do: ban travel. Scenes at South Africa’s OR Tambo International airport after the first flight bans were announced.
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Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand