| Autor: |
Arora S; Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia., Grover V; Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, Dr. H.S.J. Institute of Dental Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India., Saluja P; Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, JCD Dental College, Sirsa 125055, India., Algarni YA; Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia., Saquib SA; Department of Periodontics and Community Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia., Asif SM; Department of Diagnostic Sciences and Oral Biology, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia., Batra K; Biomedical Statistician, Office of Research, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at University of Nevada, 2040 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89102, USA., Alshahrani MY; Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia., Das G; Department of Prosthodontics, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia., Jain R; Department of Prosthodontics, Dr. H.S.J. Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital, Punjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India., Ohri A; Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, Dr. H.S.J. Institute of Dental Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India. |
| Abstrakt: |
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged in Wuhan city in December 2019, and became a grave global concern due to its highly infectious nature. The Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus-2, with its predecessors (i.e., MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV) belong to the family of Coronaviridae . Reportedly, COVID-19 has infected 344,710,576 people around the globe and killed nearly 5,598,511 persons in the short span of two years. On November 24, 2021, B.1.1.529 strain, later named Omicron, was classified as a Variant of Concern (VOC). SARS-CoV-2 has continuously undergone a series of unprecedented mutations and evolved to exhibit varying characteristics. These mutations have largely occurred in the spike (S) protein (site for antibody binding), which attribute high infectivity and transmissibility characteristics to the Omicron strain. Although many studies have attempted to understand this new challenge in the COVID-19 strains race, there is still a lot to be demystified. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to summarize the structural or virologic characteristics, burden, and epidemiology of the Omicron variant and its potential to evade the immune response. |
