During the research period, the Omicron strain was distributed among humans replacing the above options. This suggests that animals could be a source of reinfection in humans with old strains.
At the same time, an animal can infect a person with an even more dangerous option if mutations begin. “Interspecies crossovers occur when a new mutation emerges. If they continue, a new mutated Gamma may emerge that can be really dangerous,” said Stanislav Ostavnov, head of the laboratory, which analyzes indicators of population health and digitization of health care at MIPT, commented on the study.
However, overcoming the interspecies barrier is a complex, multi-step task, and a person is unlikely to get sick if there is at least a weak immune response to the coronavirus pathogen. Therefore, the situation was evaluated by Elena Malinnikova, head of the RMANPE Virology Department of the Russian Ministry of Health.
Source: Ferra
