Amulet to face the great devil "Delta"

This is the 3325th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Recently, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council held a press conference to introduce the latest situation of epidemic prevention and control:

1. As of 9:00 a.m. on August 4, 17 provinces have reported local confirmed cases or asymptomatic infections.

2. There are 144 medium- and high-risk areas in the country, the largest number since the normalization of prevention and control.

3. The national epidemic is showing a trend of multiple occurrences and local outbreaks. We must strictly and quickly promote regional joint investigations of newly discovered infections, do a good job in managing key personnel in key areas, and prevent the spread of the epidemic.

4. Railway stations across the country strictly implement the epidemic prevention and control requirements of the local governments, and resolutely prevent people who do not meet the travel requirements from entering the stations and boarding the trains.

5. In accordance with the capital's epidemic prevention and control requirements, suspend the sale of tickets for trains from medium- and high-risk areas such as Nanjing and Zhengzhou to Beijing; introduce free ticket refund measures to guide passengers to arrange their trips reasonably, reduce the flow of people, and reduce the risk of epidemic transmission.

6. The cross-border movement of non-urgent and non-essential personnel will be strictly restricted, and the approval and issuance of entry and exit documents will be strictly enforced. Ordinary entry and exit documents will not be issued unless it is necessary or urgent.

7. We must continue to take personal protection measures, wear masks, wash hands frequently, gather less, and actively get vaccinated.

The culprit that triggered the above series of epidemics and emergency prevention and control is the famous "Delta" virus!

The "Delta" virus is also called the Delta virus, commonly known as the Indian variant virus. It is one of the two known variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. It was first discovered in India on October 5, 2020. It is a double mutation variant. This new variant carries the E484Q and L452R mutations, which may lead to immune escape and increased infectivity. This variant was named B.1.617 by the World Health Organization and was named with the Greek letter δ (Delta) on May 31. It has now become the main prevalent strain in the global epidemic.

Facing this newly emerged "big devil", our epidemic prevention work has also entered a new stage:

1. Redefining “Close Contacts”

The combined effect of the mutation of the virus allows the virus to partially avoid some neutralizing antibodies, increasing its infectiousness. Academician Zhong Nanshan said: Delta virus has become the main variant of the new coronavirus in the world, and the concept of "close contacts" must also be updated. In the past, the concept of "close contact" was family members or people who worked in the same office, ate or held meetings within 1 meter of a confirmed case two days before the onset of the disease, but it is no longer applicable. For the "close" concept of Delta virus, people who were in the same space, unit, or building as a confirmed case, and who were together four days before the onset of the disease, are considered close contacts.

2. Powerful and Vicious Delta

What are the characteristics of the currently known deltaviruses?

1. Fast transmission speed - mainly because its incubation period and generation interval have been shortened, about 1-2 days on average. In the past, we know that the incubation period was about 5-6 days, but now it is about 4 days. Its generation interval used to be 4 or 5 days, but now it has become about 3 days. The disease can occur in as fast as 24 hours, and it can be transmitted five or six generations in 10 days.

2. Increased infectivity - According to research by the World Health Organization, the transmission rate of the Delta virus has increased by nearly 100% compared to other virus strains, which is doubled. Its infectivity has also doubled compared to previous epidemic strains.

3. High viral load - Studies have found that the viral load of people infected with the Delta strain is up to 1,260 times higher than that of people infected with the original strain. The exhaled gas of the infected is very toxic. Sample tests of infected people show a significant increase in viral load. The patient's CT value is very low, and the lower the CT value, the higher the viral load in the body.

4. Atypical symptoms - some patients do not have fever or cough in the early stage, but only show atypical symptoms such as fatigue, olfactory impairment, mild muscle aches, etc.

5. Long treatment time - the time required for the patient's nucleic acid test to turn negative is extended, and the patient is more likely to develop severe or critical illness, and the time to develop severe or critical illness is earlier.

3. What is our amulet when facing the "big devil" Delta?

1. Vaccines. Existing studies and observations suggest that the protective effect of the COVID-19 vaccine against deltavirus may decline, but current vaccines still have a good preventive and protective effect against deltavirus. Several COVID-19 vaccine brands currently on the Chinese market are effective against the delta strain. In addition, most patients with severe deltavirus are elderly people and children, and vaccination should be strengthened for these key groups.

2. The prevention methods we emphasized in the past are still simple and effective.

Because the way the virus is transmitted has not changed, it is still transmitted through several main ways, such as respiratory droplets, contact with pollutants, and aerosols.

Then our several amulets still shine brightly in the face of the virus, that is, wearing masks, washing hands frequently, more ventilation, and less gathering!

Wear a mask - It is recommended to change the mask every 1-2 hours in summer, and be careful when in crowds;

Wash your hands frequently - avoid touching the mouth, eyes, nose and other mucous membranes with unwashed hands;

Ventilate more - open windows for ventilation at least 2-3 times a day, each time for more than 30 minutes;

Less gathering - reduce unnecessary gatherings and dinners, and maintain a social distance of more than one meter in public places;

Actively get the new coronavirus vaccine; use public spoons and chopsticks, and disinfect tableware after use; seek medical treatment scientifically, and seek medical treatment nearby in a timely manner if you have respiratory symptoms such as fever, dry cough, and sore throat.

Let us work together to protect ourselves and fight the epidemic together!

Author: Department of Surgery, Huadong Sanatorium

Zhou Lu Attending Physician