First suspected Omikron case in Salzburg – salzburg.ORF.at
The man had apparently carried out a PCR test in a Salzburg test street because he has a second home in neighboring Upper Austria. The sample was evaluated in a Salzburg laboratory. You have shown abnormalities.
“There is currently no knowledge that there are contact persons here in Salzburg. The supraregional contact tracing of AGES has fully started because the flight passengers have to be contacted, ”says State Medical Director Petra Juhasz.
Only sequencing will bring clarity
The tracking of contact persons in the federal state had already been adjusted last week immediately after the new variant B.1.1.529 became known. In view of the suspected case, it is now necessary to wait for the result of the sequencing, which is to die in Salzburg.
“Each suspected case is given priority by us, the travel history is made precisely, the PCR sample is sequenced and the contact persons are collected and separated,” says Juhasz.
Self-testing is not possible for either the index person or the contact person: “Similar to the Delta variant, the Omikron variant will probably not be able to be stopped either. At best, we can slow it down. Initial evidence suggests that it could be more contagious ”.
Are the previous vaccines working?
Juhasz appeals to the people of Salzburg not to wait for an “adapted” vaccine either with the vaccination or the refreshment: “Even the previous vaccines probably show an effect against the new variant, based on what we know.”
Before the weekend, the country called on all those returning from southern Africa to contact the hotline 1450. You should undergo a PCR test, the samples are checked for the new “Omikron” mutation. So far eight people are employed, a spokesman for the country said on Monday.
The Salzburg laboratory Medilab, which analyzes the officially ordered PCR tests in the state, already shows all positive samples for the new virus variant.
How do the work of the nun continue?
The mutation analysis searches for mutations that die in the new Omikron variant, but not in the currently common delta variant. “If we find one of these mutations, it is a potential suspected omicron case,” explains laboratory specialist Hans Georg Mustafa. In the course of this week, primers will be developed in the laboratory with which the new variant can already be proven. The significantly more time-consuming sequencing then only follows as a precaution.
At Novogenia, the Eugendorf biotech laboratory that, among other things, handles the “Salzburg gurgelt” PCR tests, there is no nationwide screening for the new variant. As a spokesman for the company said, it needs an official order. Otherwise, Novogenia, like other laboratories, is obliged to screen some of the samples for mutations.