Tokyo, 10 January, /AJMEDIA/
No cases of infection with the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron variant [of COVID-19] have been revealed to date in Azerbaijan, expert of the Health Ministry Tayyar Eyvazov said answering questions about respiratory viral infections, received by the ministry’s social media accounts, AJMEDIA reports.
According to Eyvazov, when infected with the new subvariant of the Omicron variant, the disease usually proceeds in a milder form.
“However, citizens who are at risk (persons who don’t have stable immunity to coronavirus or with weakened immunity for various reasons, including persons with severe chronic diseases, and the aged people) should be especially careful, minimize contacts as much as possible and undergo full vaccination,” he explained.
“For almost three years now, the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic has been ongoing in the world. Despite a relative decrease in the number of new infections and deaths in most countries of the world, international experts believe that the pandemic is still a global problem,” the expert said. “The main reason is that the virus is constantly mutating and changing, that is, it acquires characteristics which are different from previous variants.”
According to epidemiological patterns, the new variant of the virus is more tenacious and can spread faster than the previous ones, Eyvazov noted.
“At the same time, along with the rapid spread of the virus, its pathogenicity decreases. We clearly see this in the example of the Omicron variant. However, exceptions are possible, and the once dominant Delta variant confirms this,” he further said. “Over the past year, the Omicron variant appeared, and this variant of the virus spread faster in the above manner, causing a large number of infections in a short period of time, which led to the formation of mass immunity.”
Besides, according to the expert, Omicron XBB.1.5 has already been identified in nearly 30 countries around the world.
Since this is a new variant of coronavirus, the information available about it is still limited. Although the new subvariant is able to spread faster than other variants of Omicron, in other respects it differs little from its predecessors, Eyvazov said.
In order to protect against infection, over the past three years, behavior in conditions of the spread of coronavirus infection has been formed among the population, he also explained.
This behavior includes minimizing contact, wearing a mask in enclosed spaces and public transport, observing the rules of hand and respiratory hygiene, regular ventilation of premises, as well as a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition, the expert noted.
“People wishing to protect themselves and their family members from respiratory viral infections at home must ensure timely isolation and treatment of an infected family member. The frequent airing of rooms and minimizing contact with the infected person is very important,” Eyvazov stressed.
The expert also recommended completely excluding contact of the infected person with children, pregnant women, aged people and people with severe chronic diseases, to regularly disinfect surfaces that the infected person touches with antiseptic agents, and if complications occur, it’s necessary to immediately consult a doctor.
“As mentioned earlier, persons at risk should be under strict medical supervision from the first day of the disease in order to timely identify and treat possible complications,” he said.
“Each of us, following these recommendations, can protect ourselves and our loved ones from these diseases and their unfavorable course,” Eyvazov concluded.
