Did omicron evolve in mice?

 

• The origin of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is not sure because it accommodates quite a few mutations which are likely to be unusual in several recognized human variants…
• The popular idea is that Omicron developed all through a protracted infection of an individual with a compromised immune system.
• Scientists on the Chinese language Academy of Sciences now report that they’ve found a pattern of mutations in Omicron that is typical of a virus that has contaminated mice.
• They take into account SARS-CoV-2 jumped from a human to a mouse in mid-2020, then once more proper right into a human in late 2021.
• They’re saying it is unlikely that the intermediate host was a laboratory mouse.

On November 24, 2021, scientists in South Africa revealed that they’d discovered a worrying new variant of SARS-CoV-2, Omicron.

They reported that the variant was spreading in a short time in southern Africa and contained quite a few unusual mutations liable to make the virus additional infectious than earlier variants. Read more