Omicron variant: di ansas to di 3 most searched questions on Google about di coronavirus strain

As di World Health Organisation (WHO) classify omicron as coronavirus variant of concern on 26 November, many pipo start dey search for internet tins dem need to sabi about am.

Before now, many health authorities and kontris bin dey deal wit di Delta variant wey dem bin tok say dey spread wella and kill pipo even afta full vaccination.

BBC Pidgin find out say if look up "omicron" for Google trends, di term get big search interest.

We sabi say dem discover am for South Africa, and di new variant don dey for some 40 countries (including Nigeria Ghana, Senegal and Uganda).

So far, plenty informate neva dey on Omicron like how transmittable e dey or weda di current vaccines go fit give immunity against am.

According to WHO, dem still dey studY to understand dis new variant and di first results fit comot dis month.

Here be di three most popular question for internet about Omicron and ansa wey sabi pipo give.

1. Wetin be Omicron virus?

Omicron Covid-19 virus na di latest variant of di coronavirus wey don dey cause pandemic since 2020.

Scientist for South Africa first discover di new variant and WHO name am "Omicron" on 26 November.

Despite say dem just find am out, omicron don dey attract plenti attention sake of say e get several mutations for di important parts of di coronavirus, like di spike. Dis structure dey responsible for connection to di receptor on human cells and starting infection.

"Dis new variant bring large number of mutations, something wey we no plan," na so virologist Flávio da Fonseca, wey be professor for di Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) for Brazil tok.

2. Wetin be Omicron variant

Many pipo dey wonda about di name "omicron"; sotay one fake news bin comot say dem name di variant afta one Italian film from 1963 (fact checkers on tok say, dis one na lie).

Omicron actually be di 15th letter for Greek alphabet.

Wen di first variant of Covid-19 first show, scientists find system to take classify dem.

Based on dis system of classification, di first Covid-19 virus wey dem discover for Wuhan, China, SARS-CoV-2, become variant A.

Den, as more variants begin show sake of mutation, sabi pipo split di code and di variants become A1, A2, B1.1, C.30.1 and so on.

But at some point dis system of classification become confusing for pipo wey no be experts.

Na im for May 2021, WHO create new criteria to classify variants.

Dem group dem into Variant of Concern (VOC) and Variant of Interest (VOI) and start dey use letters from di Greek alphabet.

VoC and VoI variants fit make di virus more aggressive and transmittable.

Dis na how B.1.1.7, wey dem discover for UK, become alpha; B.1.351 (South Africa) become beta; P.1 (Brazil) become gamma; B.1.617.2 (India) na delta; and B.1.1 .529 (South Africa) na omicron.

3. How Omicron variant symptoms be?

Sabi pipo for South Africa wey first treat patients wey catch Omicron report say di variant get some important changes wey different from di list of important changes.

Dr. Angelique Coetzee tell BBC say, most of dis pipo experience tiredness, muscle pain, itchy throat, mild fever, and dry cough.

Im also add say di pipo wey dey affected also develop milder effects.

"E bin all start wit one patient wey get mild symptoms. Im say im bin dey extremely tired for two days and bin get body aches and small headache. No sore throat, but sometin like sore throat. No cough, no loss smell or taste, " im tok.

"Because e bin dey very unusual for this particular patient to get dis types of symptoms, I decide to test am. We do rapid test and e came back positive," di doctor tok.

Sabi pipo dey warn say make you dey careful as you take dis informate.

Based on wetin WHO sabi so far about di Omicron variant, "e neva clear weda e dey transmittable compare to oda variants, including Delta."

Also, "e no clear yet weda infection from Omicron dey cause serious disease compared to infections from oda variants, including Delta.

Vaccine suppose work against Omicron - WHO

Existing vaccines suppose still fit protect pipo wey contract di Omicron variant from serious Covid cases, one World Health Organization (WHO) official, Dr. Mike Ryan tok.

Dis one come as di first lab test of di new variant for South Africa suggest say di variant fit partially avoid di Pfizer jab.

Researchers say "very large drop" dey for how well di vaccine antibodies work for di new variant.

But Dr. Ryan say sign no dey say vaccines no go work for Omicron as e work for oda variants.

"We get highly effective vaccine wey don prove effective against all di variants so far, in terms of serious disease and hospitalisation, and reason no dey to expect say e no go work for Omicron", Dr Ryan, WHO emergencies director, tell AFP news agency.

E tok say initial data suggest Omicron no dey make pipo sick reach di Delta and oda strains. "If anything, di direction na towards less seriousness".