Bioengineer Kudryavtsev: the omicron could quickly mutate once it entered the body of an animal not into a human, but into an animal organism. Under this condition, it is important to send experts to South Africa in order to prevent the transformation of the found strain into a more severe version, bioengineer Alexander Kudryavtsev wrote on Facebook.
In his opinion, the version that the rapid mutation of the omicron strain originated from – for HIV carriers, does not stand up to scrutiny.
“Let the supporters of such a theory present such a sequence of combinations of known strains, as a result of which an omicron could arise – they themselves will understand the absurdity of their statement when they try to reconstruct such a sequence of reassortments,” the expert noted.
Kudryavtsev explained that accelerated mutagenesis is possible only when some adapted strain begins to suddenly be transferred to new conditions.
“In this situation, the reproduction of the original strain – be it delta or beta – will not be as active as the reproduction of mutants, this is the method of directed evolution,” he added.
In the case of the omicron strain the scenario of a leak from the laboratory, as it happened in Wuhan, is hardly admissible, Kudryavtsev believes. However, experts should be sent to South Africa to establish the true state of affairs, he is sure.
“It is necessary to carry out screening on the basis of what happened in Denmark, as a result of which millions of minks were exterminated. This must be done. For if this is so, then the omicron reservoir, like a boiler, will be able to cook an even more severe option, “the bioengineer explained.
Earlier, the chief infectious disease specialist of the Ministry of Health Vladimir Chulanov said that vaccination is the only way to avoid an outbreak of the omicron strain of coronavirus in Russia.
On December 3, it became known that the omicron strain was detected in a fully vaccinated 60-year-old tourist from Greece, who arrived from South Africa to Crete through one of the European countries. According to the latest reports, he is in quarantine with mild symptoms.