Omicron variant in Tuscany, in Siena the first case: she is a tourist – Chronicle
Siena, 13 December 2021 – The omicron variant has entered Tuscany. For the first time, it was isolated from a patient who tested positive for coronavirus. It happens in Siena. This is an English woman on vacation in Italy. She had been hospitalized at the Le Scotte hospital in Siena for another pathology and, during the routine tests on the coronavirus, the variant was identified. The sequencing was carried out by the Microbiology and Virology UOC of the Sienese university hospital, directed by the professor Maria Grazia Cusi.
A very contagious variant omicron, albeit the scientific community still has to investigate how much more dangerous it is than the other variants. The hospitalized woman is asymptomatic with respect to the coronavirus and is in good condition.
“All patients who are hospitalized with access from the Emergency Department or who have a scheduled hospitalization are undergoing the Covid test and, for all, the necessary precautions are used to prevent contagion, both for the other patients present and for the professionals to work – explains the medical director of the Aou Senese Roberto Gusinu -. On positive samples, sequencing is carried out to evaluate the type of variant present, considering the one prevailing at the moment it is the Delta. In this case, our laboratory immediately found the gene variation with a virus screening, after which it did a further study with genetic sequencing, which confirmed the presence of the Omicron variant “.
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