Popova announced the ability of “omicron” to infect mice and rats – RBK

A new strain of coronavirus, omicron, infects mice and rats that have not previously been infected with coronavirus, said the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova during a meeting of the presidium of the coordinating council for combating COVID-19, RBC correspondent reports.

“The new omicron strain infects mice and rats, we did not observe this for the previous types of strains,” Popova said. Previously, researchers had to look for other model animals, she said, as mice and rats were insensitive to past strains of the coronavirus. “Today we see that they become infected and they develop a disease state,” added the head of Rospotrebnadzor.

Now, as Popova said, the strain is under study in accordance with the plan according to which all new viruses are being investigated. For the omicron strain, resistance in the external environment and to disinfectants, the likelihood of infection and the rate of transmission in laboratory conditions, as well as the ability of the virus to cause severe forms of the disease are determined. The sensitivity of PCR tests and the effectiveness of vaccines against the strain are also analyzed.

According to the head of Rospotrebnadzor, 41 cases of infection with a new strain of coronavirus have been registered in Russia. The first case of infection with the omicron strain was recorded in Russia on December 6 in two Russians who returned from South Africa. According to information from the World Health Organization, on December 18, “omicron” was identified in 89 countries of the world. In the USA and Great Britain, the deaths of patients with the new strain were recorded.