"Secret" corona variant: Re-infection should be possible every month

Created: 08/29/2022, 22:35

By: Vincent Fischer

A new corona variant causes multiple infections in an unusually large number of people – a second infection is possible four weeks after the first.

© IMAGO/ Wolfgang Maria Weber

The omicron variant of the corona virus continues to cause alarms.

According to a new study, reinfection is possible after just one month.

Perth - Almost all measures have been taken for months, people are living a carefree summer with almost no restrictions.

The corona virus takes up little space in society.

However, scientists and health experts are still uneasy and warn in particular about the fall.

The results of a recent study are causing even more alarm.

This means that re-infection is possible every month.

Coronavirus: Omicron variant has 'completely supplanted' all mutations -

The corona mutation omicron with its subvariants currently dominates the infection process in Germany.

It has "completely supplanted" all other variants, according to the current weekly report from the Robert Koch Institute on Thursday (August 25).

With 95 percent, the subvariant BA.5 occurs most frequently in Germany.

Because of this, virologists are particularly concerned because it is even more contagious.

BA.1, BA.2 and BA.4 are also known.

In the video: Because of Omikron BA.5 - Lauterbach gives a gloomy corona forecast for the fall

BA.5 is causing concern in Australia.

There, health official Andy Robertson warned of "silent" corona variants of omicron.

These "appear to be able to circumvent the protection provided by a previous BA.2 infection or vaccine," he told Australian radio station

.

The consequence: re-infections occur much more frequently - and faster and faster.

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach is also alarmed because of the increasing number of vaccine breakthroughs by Omikron.

Coronavirus: Current study supports observation in Australia - "a kind of stealth virus"

"We are observing an increasing number of people who have been infected with BA.2 and are then infected again four weeks later." The second infection is "almost certainly either BA.4 or BA.5." Supported These findings are based on a study by immunology professor Danny Altmann.

He sees Omicron as "a kind of stealth virus that sneaks in unnoticed."

The subvariants BA.2 and BA.5 are said to largely escape protection from vaccines or previous infections.

That explains why there could be such a high number of reinfections.

Most people would have "a 20-fold lower neutralizing antibody response to Omicron than to the original 'Wuhan' strain."

Nevertheless, the vaccines are the most effective means against an infection because they offer at least partial immunity.

However, it is not always easy to distinguish a corona infection from hay fever or a cold.

Munich corona expert warns of re-infections: "Should not be trivialized"

Re-infections are also more common with omicrons because the first infection only builds up a bad "immunity scar", i.e. no good immunological memory against omicron variants of the coronavirus, according to Professor Clemens Wendtner, chief physician of infectiology at the Munich Clinic Schwabing the

.

"We have observed patients with reinfections after just one to two months when the immune system is very weak," confirms the expert.

He also demands: “Reinfections should not be trivialized.

We see both acute severe courses after reinfection and patients with post-Covid symptoms after reinfection, which can only be triggered by reinfection.” According to a recent study, every eighth infected person suffers from such long-term consequences.