在新冠变异病毒德尔塔肆虐全球之际,又一种变异毒株引起了世卫组织的关注↓
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在世界卫生组织8月31日发布的全球疫情周报中,将新冠变异病毒B.1.621命名为“缪(Mu)”毒株,并将其列为“需要留意”的变异株。
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the new Mu COVID variant, B.1.621, as "a variant of interest" that it is monitoring.
该变异株可能具有较高的疫苗耐受性,能逃避之前感染或接种疫苗带来的免疫力,因此世卫组织将对其开展进一步监测。
The WHO said the variant "has a constellation of mutations that indicate potential properties of immune escape." That means it may have the ability to evade the immunity people get from vaccines.
图源:央视新闻截图
已有40多个国家和地区报告缪毒株病例
美国、日本、韩国等均“中招”
据世卫组织全球疫情周报介绍,缪毒株于今年1月首先在哥伦比亚发现。哥伦比亚卫生部9月2日也证实,缪毒株是在该国发现的本土变异毒株。
图源:央视新闻截图
截至目前,已有包括美国、日本等在内的40多个国家和地区报告了感染该变异毒株的病例。哥伦比亚一名卫生官员称,该变异毒株今年4月至6月在当地引发了第三波新冠疫情。
The Mu variant, which first appeared in Colombia in January, has since been detected in over 40 countries and territories. A Colombian health official said the variant was responsible for the third surge that occurred between April and June.
相关数据显示,尽管“缪”变异毒株在全球的流行感染率有所下降,目前低于0.1%,但哥伦比亚和厄瓜多尔的流行率一直在上升,哥伦比亚流行率为39%,厄瓜多尔流行率为13%。
"Although the global prevalence of the Mu variant among sequenced cases has declined and is currently below 0.1%, the prevalence in Colombia (39%) and Ecuador (13%) has consistently increased," the WHO said.
据美国《新闻周刊》报道,截至目前,美国共计49个州及华盛顿哥伦比亚特区都出现了感染该毒株的病例。目前,美国境内只有内布拉斯加州未出现相关感染病例。
In the U.S., the Mu variant has been detected in 49 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nebraska is the only state not to have detected a mu variant case, according to Newsweek.
加利福利亚州共报告384例感染“缪”变异毒株的新冠确诊病例——为全美最高纪录——其中167例来自洛杉矶县。
California has reported the highest number of cases – 384, with 167 found in Los Angeles County alone.
图源:@Today视频截图
美国国家过敏症和传染病研究所所长福奇在9月2日的新闻发布会上表示,目前美国政府正在关注缪毒株,但认为该变异毒株并非迫在眉睫的威胁。他强调,只要仍有大量未接种疫苗的人群,新冠病毒就会继续出现新的更加危险的变异毒株。
The U.S. is “paying attention to it,” but it isn’t considered an immediate threat, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert at a press briefing on Sep 2. He noted that as long as the significant number of Americans aren’t vaccinated, COVID will develop increasingly dangerous variants.
除了美洲地区,亚洲的日本、韩国以及中国香港、中国台湾地区也均报告出现“缪”毒株。
图源:央视新闻截图
世卫组织列出4种“需要关注”
和5种"需要留意"的变异株
新冠肺炎疫情暴发以来,已经出现了多种变异毒株。为了方便公众讨论并防止对发现地的污名化,世卫组织在今年5月决定以希腊字母来命名新冠病毒变异株。世界卫生组织考虑到变异毒株的传播力和症状等,将其分为“需要关注”和“需要留意”毒株进行监测。
目前世卫组织将4种新冠病毒变种列为“需要关注(Variants of Concern)”的变种,分别是:最早在英国发现的阿尔法(Alpha)、南非发现的贝塔(Beta)、巴西发现的伽马(Gamma)以及印度发现的德尔塔(Delta)。
图源:世卫组织官网
而“需要留意(Variants of Interest)”的变异株,级别上低于德尔塔毒株所属的“需要关注”。根据世卫组织官网显示,“缪”是世卫组织列出的第5种“需要留意”的变种,其他4种包括:埃塔(Eta)、约塔(Iota)、卡帕(Kappa)和拉姆达(Lambda)。
图源:世卫组织官网
其中,拉姆达毒株在去年12月首次在南美秘鲁被发现(戳这里回顾)。世卫组织6月发布报告称,拉姆达毒株的刺突蛋白存在多个突变,这可能导致其拥有比原始毒株更强的传播性和抵抗中和抗体的能力。
To assist with public discussions of variants, WHO convened a group of scientists to consider easy-to-pronounce and non-stigmatizing labels for COVID variants. At the present time, this expert group convened by WHO has recommended using letters of the Greek Alphabet, i.e., Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta.
During late 2020, the emergence of variants that posed an increased risk to global public health prompted the characterization of specific Variants of Interest (VOIs) and Variants of Concern (VOCs), in order to prioritize global monitoring and research, and ultimately to inform the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the WHO website.
综合来源:新华网,央视网,世卫组织官网,CGTN,MSNBC