A mini review on omicron variant of SARS-COV: A new variant of concern (VOC)

Ali Umar 1, Zeeshan Ulfat 1, Muhammad Waseem Aslam 1, Ahmad Waheed 1, Nasir Ali 1, Saira Parveen 2, Neelam Amjad 3, Muhammad Wajid 1, Azka Zafar 1, Muhammad Shoaib Akhtar 4, Kamran Jafar 1, Shabbir Ahmad 1, Hasnain Akmal 1, Nazaket Ali 1, Warda Zafar 1, Hina Naz 1, Sadia Bashir 1, Alia Umar 1 and Muhammad Saleem Khan 1, *

1 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Okara, Okara 56130 Pakistan.
2 Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore Pakistan.
3 Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore Pakistan.
4 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Okara, Okara 56130 Pakistan.
 
Review Article
GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2022, 19(01), 001–004.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscbps.2022.19.1.0106
Publication history: 
Received on 11 February 2022; revised on 28 March 2022; accepted on 30 March 2022
 
Abstract: 
The Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) is a pandemic which outbreak from Wuhan China in late 2019. It has produced serious disturbances and unprecedented problems around the whole world including in worldwide healthcare systems. Severe corona viral acute syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing a severe viral pneumonia which began in December 2019 in Wuhan. The Omicron virus is a newly emerging variant of previously existing SARS-CoV-2. This variant is firstly reported in South Africa on November 24, 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified it as a variation of concern on November 26, 2021. A large number of mutations (60 mutations) with several novel mutations, are discovered in this variant and these mutations disrupt the spike protein targeted by most COVID-19 vaccines. Higher degree of mutations in the virus makes it virus of concern in its transmission, effects on immune system and level of vaccine resistance. As a result, the variant was quickly identified as "of concern," and several countries instituted travel restrictions in an attempt to prevent the spread of the mutation throughout the world. Omicron also reported as zoonotic disease.
 
Keywords: 
Omicron; Corona Virus; COVID-19; Virus recombination; Mutation; SARS-CoV-2
 
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Copyright information: 
Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0

 

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