Prognosis
How a Missing Gene Led South African Scientists to Find Omicron
- Variant’s discovery triggered global panic, travel bans
- Country hosts world-leading, gene-sequencing facilities
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In early November, laboratories in South Africa’s Gauteng province began picking up something unusual while processing Covid-19 tests: they weren’t able to detect the virus gene that creates the spike protein enabling the pathogen to enter human cells and spread.
Around the same time, doctors in the region saw a sudden flood of patients with fatigue and headaches. The new cases appeared after weeks of calm that ensued following a delta variant-driven third coronavirus wave, which had ripped through Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria in July.