H5N1

ECDC epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 4 December 2021 (12.00)

ECDC has published Epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 4 December 2021 (12.00). Click though to download the full report.

As of 4 December and since 3 December 2021, 58 additional SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant of concern (VOC) cases have been confirmed in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), contributing to an overall total of 167 confirmed cases so far.     

Cases have been reported by 17 countries: Austria (10), Belgium (6), Czechia (1), Denmark (18), Finland (1), France (12, including 2 in Reunion), Germany (15), Greece (1), Iceland (7), Ireland (1), Italy (9), Luxembourg (1), the Netherlands (18), Norway (19), Portugal (34), Spain (7) and Sweden (7) according to information from public sources. One new EU/EEA country (Luxembourg) has reported the Omicron variant and a number of probable cases are currently under investigation in several countries.    

The majority of confirmed cases have a history of travel to countries in Africa, with some having taken connecting flights at other locations between Africa and Europe. Several EU/EEA countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain) detected cases without an epidemiological link to areas where community transmission of the Omicron variant is documented or presumed. This indicates that undetected community transmission could be ongoing in these countries. Finland reported cases with travel history within the EU/EEA (Sweden, Denmark).    

All cases for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild. No deaths have been reported among these cases so far. These figures should be assessed with caution as the number of confirmed cases is too low to understand if the disease clinical spectrum of Omicron differs from that of previously detected variants.   

Post-mortem lung tissue: The fossil record of the pathophysiology and immunopathology of severe COVID-19

Via The Lancet Respiratory Medicine: Post-mortem lung tissue: the fossil record of the pathophysiology and immunopathology of severe COVID-19. The summary:

The lungs are the main site that is affected in severe COVID-19, and post-mortem lung tissue provides crucial insights into the pathophysiology of severe disease. From basic histology to state-of-the-art multiparameter digital pathology technologies, post-mortem lung tissue provides snapshots of tissue architecture, and resident and inflammatory cell phenotypes and composition at the time of death. 

Contrary to early assumptions that COVID-19 in the lungs is a uniform disease, post-mortem findings have established a high degree of disease heterogeneity. Classic diffuse alveolar damage represents just one phenotype, with disease divisible by early and late progression as well as by pathophysiological process. A distinct lung tissue state occurs with secondary infection; extrapulmonary causes of death might also originate from a pathological process in the lungs linked to microthrombosis. 

This heterogeneity of COVID-19 lung disease must be recognised in the management of patients and in the development of novel treatment strategies.

ECDC epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 2 December 2021 (12.00)

ECDC has published Epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 2 December 2021 (12.00). Click through for more.

As of 2 December 2021, and since 1 December 2021, 20 additional SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to 79 confirmed cases. The cases have been reported by 15 European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries: Austria (4), Belgium (3), Czechia (1), Denmark (6), France (2, including 1 in Réunion), Germany (10), Greece (1), Iceland (1), Ireland (1), Italy (9), the Netherlands (16), Norway (4), Portugal (14), Spain (3), and Sweden (4), according to information from public sources. Four new EU/EEA countries reporting Omicron variant cases are: Iceland, Ireland, Greece, and Norway.  

A number of probable cases have also been reported from across the region, but these are still under investigation. The majority of confirmed cases have a history of travel to African countries, with some having taken connecting flights at other destinations between Africa and Europe. Several European countries reported cases without a travel history who also had no known contact with a case with a travel history (Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom).  

All cases for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild. No severe cases and no deaths have been reported among these cases so far.  

Cases have been reported in 16 countries and territories outside of the EU/EEA (Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ghana, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and the United Kingdom). Overall, 390 confirmed cases have been reported in 31 countries.

ECDC epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 1 December 2021 (12.00)

ECDC has published Epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 1 December 2021 (12.00). Click through to download the full report.

As of 1 December 2021, and since 30 November 2021, 15 additional SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to 59 confirmed cases. The cases have been reported by 11 European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries: Austria (3), Belgium (2), Czechia (1), Denmark (4), France (1, in Réunion), Germany (9), Italy (4), the Netherlands (16), Portugal (14), Spain (2), and Sweden (3), according to information from public sources.  

A number of probable cases have also been reported from across the region, but are still under investigation. The majority of confirmed cases have a history of travel to southern African countries, with some having taken connecting flights at other destinations between Africa and Europe. All cases for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild. To date, there have been no severe cases and no deaths reported among these cases.  

Cases have been reported in 12 countries and territories outside the EU/EEA (Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom).

ECDC epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 30 November 2021 (12.00)

ECDC has published Epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 30 November 2021 (12.00).

As of 30 November 2021, 44 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC have been reported by eleven European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France (Reunion), Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden) according to information from public sources.  

A number of probable cases have also been reported from across the region, but these are still under investigation. The majority of confirmed cases have a history of travel to African countries, with some having taken connecting flights at other destinations between Africa and Europe. All cases for which there is information available  on severity were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms. So far, no severe cases or deaths have been reported among these cases.  

Cases have been reported in nine countries and territories outside of the EU/EEA (Australia, Botswana, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).

ECDC: Epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 29 November 2021 (12:30)

ECDC has published Epidemiological update: Omicron variant of concern (VOC) – data as of 29 November 2021 (12:30).

As of 29 November 2021, 33 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC cases have been reported by eight European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal) according to information from public sources.  

A number of probable cases have also been reported from across the region, but these are still under investigation. All confirmed cases have a history of travel to African countries, with some having taken connecting flights at other destinations between Africa and Europe. All cases for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild. No severe cases and no deaths have been reported among these cases so far.  

Cases have been reported in seven countries and territories outside of the EU/EEA (Australia, Botswana, Canada, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Israel, South Africa, United Kingdom).

Minister De Jonge: '13 Omicron infections on Schiphol flights'

Via De Telegraaf: Minister De Jonge: ’13 Omicron infections on Schiphol flights'. The Google translation:

THE HAGUE - During the explanation of Health Minister Hugo de Jonge, it was announced that at least 13 people among the Dutch passengers from South Africa were infected with the omicron variant. No additional measures against this corona variant were announced on Sunday.

Of the more than 600 passengers who arrived in two planes from Cape Town and Johannesburg at Schiphol, it was previously found that 61 had tested positive for corona. The new virus variant has been identified in thirteen of them, the RIVM reports.

The infected passengers are currently staying in a corona hotel near Schiphol Airport. People with complaints must stay there for seven days. Security is available.  

Corona test street Schiphol  

Travelers who have returned from southern Africa since last Monday are urged by De Jonge to be tested and to go into quarantine. From Sunday they can make an appointment via the special number 0800-5005.  

People returning from South Africa via Schiphol can also have themselves tested for the corona virus at the airport from Sunday immediately after arrival. The GGD Kennemerland has set up a special test street at the airport for this purpose. 

These are travelers from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho and Eswatini (Swaziland). These countries now have an entry ban for non-EU citizens. The Dutch can still travel back and forth to southern Africa. Upon return to the Netherlands, they must have a double negative test result and must be in home isolation for at least five days on arrival. According to De Jonge, the municipality is coming to check whether they are actually staying at home.

Belgium was the first European country where the variant was established, followed on Saturday by England and Germany. The World Health Organization (WHO) has given the variant the stamp of concern, but as yet it is unclear what the consequences are for the severity of the disease and the effectiveness of vaccines.

Growing list of nations on alert over variant

Via The New York Times: Omicron Updates and Covid News: Growing List of Nations on Alert Over Variant. For some reason, the nations declaring travel bans on southern Africa are not imposing such bans on one another. Excerpt:

Dutch health officials said on Sunday they had found at least 13 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant among 61 infected passengers who had arrived in the Netherlands from South Africa on Friday. The new cases were a clear sign that the virus was crossing borders even as governments imposed new travel restrictions and flight bans.  

Additional cases could emerge, as health officials were still examining test samples, said Hugo de Jonge, the country’s health minister, adding that the people who tested positive were in quarantine. The 61 passengers who had tested positive were among more than 500 who arrived on two separate flights.  

A growing list of countries are scrambling to respond to the new, highly mutated version of the virus, which was first detected in Botswana and South Africa and which has sent ripples of panic through governments and markets. Health officials in Australia and Denmark on Sunday both confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in travelers recently arriving from southern Africa.  

The World Health Organization warned on Friday that Omicron was a “variant of concern,” the most serious category the agency uses for such tracking, and said that its numerous genetic mutations could help it spread more quickly, even among vaccinated people.  

Scientists cautioned that relatively little is known about the new variant, and that only a small number of confirmed cases have surfaced globally. Still, there are worries that Omicron could have spread more widely before scientists in South Africa discovered it last week, and the memories of the rampaging spread this year of the Delta variant have prompted new waves of travel restrictions, aimed primarily at southern African countries.

Britain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Israel are among the countries that have identified Omicron infections in recent days and imposed new travel restrictions. In a sign of how seriously the authorities in Europe, which is already battling a surge of coronavirus cases, are taking the new threat, officials in France on Friday also suspended arrivals from seven southern African countries even though the new variant had not yet been detected in France.  

“It’s probably a question of hours, let’s be honest,” Olivier Véran, the health minister, told reporters on Sunday at a vaccination center in Paris. But he added that “new variant doesn’t necessarily mean new wave, or that the variant is more dangerous.” 

“To be safe, we are acting as though this variant is potentially dangerous,” he said.