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The widely used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including with Omicron, the World Health Organisation said in its latest update.
As concerns abound on the effectiveness of tests, existing treatments and vaccines against the new SARS-CoV-2 variant, the WHO said studies were ongoing to determine the impact on other types of tests, including the rapid antigen detection tests.
On the all-important vaccines question, the WHO said it was working with technical partners to understand the potential impact of this variant on existing counter-measures, including vaccines. “Vaccines remain critical to reducing severe disease and death, including against the dominant circulating virus, Delta. Current vaccines remain effective against severe disease and death.”
Treatments
On treatments, corticosteroids (one of the first treatments endorsed by the WHO) and IL6 receptor blockers will still be effective for managing patients with severe Covid-19, the agency said, adding that the rest of the products were still being assessed.
Presently, the WHO is co-ordinating with researchers around the world to better understand Omicron, it said, pointing to studies to assess transmissibility, severity of infection (including symptoms), performance of vaccines and diagnostic tests, and effectiveness of treatments.
Just last week, the WHO designated B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, and named it Omicron. It was based on the decision of its technical advisory group looking at the virus evolution, who had in turn pointed out that Omicron had several mutations that may have an impact how it behaved.
It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible compared to other variants, including Delta, said the WHO. “The number of people testing positive has risen in areas of South Africa affected by this variant, but epidemiologic studies are underway to understand if it is because of Omicron or other factors.”
It made a similar observation on severity of infection as well. “Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalisation in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron. There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants.”
Initial reported infections were among university studies — younger individuals who tend to have more mild disease. Understanding the level of severity of Omicron will take days to several weeks, it added. Further, it pointed out, preliminary evidence suggested “there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron...as compared to other variants of concern,” although the information was limited.
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