No 'patient zero' has been found for omicron or any other variant, but scientists think they likely evolved within a single immunocompromised person.
Charles Darwin could have learned a thing or two about evolution from the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Unlike some viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 has a self-correcting mechanism – like spell-check – fixing some of the random mistakes it makes as it copies itself. The coronavirus typically only changes about 2 of the 30,000 letters in its genome a month as it transmits from person to person.
No "patient zero" has been found for omicron or any other variant, but scientists think they likely evolved within a single immunocompromised person. Experts say it's too soon to know whether all those changes will make the variant less subject to protection from vaccines and previous infections, or whether it will be able to evade monoclonal antibody treatments.For one variant to take over, it has to beat out others, either by transmitting more effectively or by being able to make more copies of itself once it reaches a new host.
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