By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE way in which the Covid-19 virus and its variants are transmitted has not changed says epidemiologist Dr Avery Hinds.
Speaking at the Ministry of Health’s press conference on Monday, Dr Hinds explained why the Delta strain of the virus was more transmissible and once again appealed to the public to get vaccinated and continue adhering to all the health protocols.
Dr Hinds said, “What we call a viral load is one of the factors that makes that Delta variant more transmissible because you have more virus in your system in the back of your throat in the respiratory tract to be shed.
“You have more viral particles coming out of an infected person’s body and possibly being transmitted to another individual. So those higher levels of viral replication in cells are one of the main factors that is responsible for that increased transmissibility.”
Another factor was the relationship between the spike protein and receptors on cell surfaces.
“Those two things together make it easier for the virus to get from one individual to the next and in so doing it makes it easier for the virus to get to different age groups.” Dr Hinds said.
He added, “One of the things we did find was the absence of certain kinds of receptors in paediatric patients made the infection of certain tissues, those respiratory tissues, tissues to the back of the throat a little less likely.”
While the Delta variant was transmissible to every age group, it would be manifested differently through varying symptoms, Dr Hinds said.
Now with children, he said more “respiratory presentation” was being observed.
He stressed that the measures for prevention remain the same which includes mask wearing, vaccination, physical distancing and no overcrowding especially of indoor spaces.
“The greater the level of vaccination we have, the greater the layer of protection that we employ,” Dr Hinds said.
And Dr Hinds said he has observed public transport using air-condition and is again advising against the use.
“The only AC we need right now is air circulation. The windows need to be open so that you reduce the risk of contamination in those vehicles,” he said.
