So far, Omicron is considered a strange variant of the coronavirus which causes Covid disease. Although with many mutations, Omicron has not been derived from any other variant like Alpha, Beta, Delta, but from the coronavirus that circulated maybe 18 months ago. So why hasn’t it been noticed all this time? Why is it spreading now?
Researchers are exploring a number of reasons. An alternative is that Omicron appeared in a remote region of Africa but did not spread until now. Another is that it evolved in infected animals, such as mice, and then passed back to humans. But a third explanation is gaining ground as more data comes to light: Omicron appeared in a person with a weak immune system, such as someone being treated for cancer, perhaps a patient with a transplanted organ or someone with Uncontrolled HIV.
The latter possibility has aroused global concern. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two-thirds of the global population living with HIV. For a variety of reasons, from lack of access to clinics to fears of prejudice and disrupted health care, 8 million people in the region are not on HIV therapy.
Note: AIDS is a syndrome, or range of symptoms, that can develop over time in a person with HIV who is not being treated. A person can have HIV without developing AIDS, but it is not possible to have AIDS without having HIV before.
So, there is a risk that uncontrolled HIV virus is promoting the emergence of Covid variants.
The suspicion that disturbing variants may develop in patients with weakened immune systems is not new. The Alpha and Beta variants, first discovered last year in the UK and South Africa, are widely thought to have emerged after long-term infections in patients.
The mechanism was introduced by Charles Darwin more than 150 years ago: evolution through natural selection. If a person is infected with Covid but has a weak immune response, the infection can continue for months. At this time, the antibodies neutralize some of the viruses, but not all variants. Surviving viruses multiply, change and - potentially bypass immune defenses.
Sources: Guardian, Bloomberg
