Omikron has also been detected in Germany. Dr. Angelique Coetzee from South Africa treated the first patients to be infected with the corona variant. That’s what she says about the course of the disease.
Germany is under the spell of the fourth wave, now the new Coronavirus variant Omikron is coming. As was to be expected, the variant could not be contained in southern Africa and has reached Europe. There are now also confirmed cases in Germany. The South African doctor, who first sounded the alarm about the omicron variant, told British media that the symptoms were “unusual but mild”. Dr. Angelique Coetzee said that otherwise healthy patients showed unusual symptoms. She worries how the new variant could harm the elderly, the previous patients would at least not have a more severe course than with the previously known variants.
So far there have only been observations on Omikron
Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, was made aware of the new variant when patients with Covid-19 symptoms came to her private practice in the capital Pretoria earlier this month. According to her, the symptoms differed greatly from known Covid courses. The patients suffered from severe fatigue and pain all over their bodies. A six-year-old child had a very high pulse rate, she told the British Telegraph. However, none of the patients complained of a loss of taste or smell.
“The symptoms were different and milder than those of the people I had previously treated,” said Dr. Coetzee. In total, about two dozen of their patients are sick with the new variant. These are mostly healthy men who feel “very tired”. About half of them are vaccinated, the other half are not.
“We had a very interesting case, a child about six years old with a fever and a very high pulse, and I wondered if I should admit him. But when I checked two days later, he was much better.” , says Dr. Coetzee.
Not a difficult course
In the meantime, these patients are all healthy again. Nobody had to be instructed. Now Dr. Coetzee that the new variant could hit older people – with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or heart disease – harder. In South Africa only a quarter of the population is currently vaccinated. However, the population is much younger than in the EU countries.
The variant B.1.1.529, now called Omikron, was first discovered in Botswana on November 11th. It is the most severely mutated form of Covid-19 discovered to date, with 32 mutations in the spike protein. Scientists fear that the mutations could make it possible to bypass existing vaccines and spread quickly.
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Source From: Stern
