Paraguay currently presents an increase in cases of COVID-19, which indicates that it is entering a new wave of infections caused by the coronavirus.
By Fabiola Roman
What causes concern in the face of this new wave is that the circulation of the coronavirus is accompanied by other respiratory viruses, such as the syncytial virus and the influenza virus. In addition to this, the arrival of winter, with the permanence of people in closed and poorly ventilated places, can increase the cases of respiratory virus infections.
The fourth wave of COVID-19 has already ended in northern countries, where a huge increase in positive cases has been observed; however, the number of hospitalized patients was kept under control, largely thanks to the vaccines.
The European fourth wave had begun in September 2021 in Eastern Europe, a region in which several countries had low vaccination rates and few, if any, restrictions. The wave then picked up speed in western Europe as the cold weather approached, forcing people to stay indoors longer. It is important to note that this wave was caused by the Delta variant.
Some countries, such as Portugal and Spain, although they also had an increase in cases during the fourth wave, this was notably less than that of the other countries in Europe. This is most likely due to their high vaccination rates. In the case of Spain, it had 80% of its population vaccinated and in the case of Portugal, 88%.
Currently, both in Europe and South America, the increase in cases is due to the Omicron variant and its sublineages.
Omicron’s sublineage, known as BA.2, replaced BA.1 and became the predominant mutation in the world. In addition, South Africa has recently detected a significant number of new cases with the lineages known as BA.4 and BA.5. Also, Europe is experiencing an increase in cases with the same sublineages.
These two new sub-lineages were detected in South Africa earlier this year and now appear to be spreading much faster than other variants. Most European countries now have them and it looks like they will soon outgrow the older variants. That already happened in Portugal: BA.5 is now dominant there. UK COVID-19 infections are also showing early signs of a possible rise, driven by BA.4 and BA.5.
Early indications from the South African authorities, obtained through sequencing of samples, highlight that these Omicron sublineages continue to increase among confirmed cases in South Africa. The authorities reported that there is no cause for alarm at the moment, because the number of infections is not translating into a large increase in hospitalizations or deaths.
Apparently BA.4 and BA.5 Ómicron are not more lethal than other types of covid. The disease may appear less risky overall, since many people have already developed some immunity from past infections and vaccinations. What may be of some concern is that the new sub-variants seem to be spreading more easily. This could indicate a decrease in the immunity acquired by people, although it may also be due to the mutations that the virus has undergone. Many countries have also lifted their Covid restrictions, which means people are crowding together more, giving the virus more chance to spread. Also, BA.4 and BA.5 seem to be able to infect people even if they have recently had other types of Omicron. Therefore, it is possible to have a high number of reinfections in the population.
In addition to vaccines, the use of face masks is always one more barrier against the coronavirus. It is important that people understand its benefit and use it consciously, especially at this time of year in Paraguay, in order to avoid not only covid, but also the spread of other respiratory diseases.
