Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
It has now been more than a month since the Omicron variant was first reported to the World Health Organization.
Since then, case counts of Omicron have exploded around the world, including in Canada. According to data compiled by CTVNews.ca, more than 8,000 cases of Omicron have already been reported across the country.
But for each new variant of concern that arises, with it may also come questions about how exactly researchers know what to look for, and whether or not current tests are able to identify a new variant.
Nucleic acid-based testing, also known as molecular testing, is the main type of test used in Canada to diagnose COVID-19, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Of all the molecular tests, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most common.
Dr. Marek Smieja is an infectious diseases physician and professor at McMaster University in Hamilton. He explained that PCR tests typically focus on two to three targets, or parts of the COVID-19 genome, that are analyzed to determine which variant it is. One part that’s of particular concern is the S-gene.
“A commonly used [procedure] will detect parts of the S-gene, the spike protein,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Wednesday. “That's always been of interest because the spike protein is probably the main protein that binds to human receptors and interacts with our immune system.”
When conducting a test, there’s an expectation that all the targets will see positive results, indicating they exist in roughly similar amounts, said Dr. Dan Gregson, an associate professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine. But with the Omicron variant, he said, similar to what’s been observed with the Alpha variant, the S-gene can’t be detected.
“There's a mutation in the spike region that causes it not to flag positive,” he said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. “You lose the spike – this is called a spike gene target failure.”
Smieja described this as “an early clue that this is a different virus.” The Delta variant for example, which accounts for the most COVID-19 cases detected in Canada so far, possesses an S-gene. While the Omicron and Alpha variants both share this trait, Smieja explained that because the latter has almost completely disappeared, most instances of this S-gene target failure involve the Omicron variant.
It was after scientists in South Africa observed this dropout that they performed what’s called whole genome sequencing, which looks at the full genetic makeup of viral samples, said Smieja. This led to the discovery of the Omicron variant with its large number of mutations – more than 30 on the spike protein alone.
“It looked like something different, and it certainly has shown up to be much more transmissible,” he said. “It’s still an open question whether it's a milder disease or not, we're still learning that.”
HOW TO CONFIRM WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE OMICRON
Whole genome sequencing is the best way to truly confirm whether a person has the Omicron strain of COVID-19, said Smiieja. It involves analyzing the full set of genetic instructions from a viral sample, a total of at least 29,000 base pairs, he explained. This makes it much more complicated and time-consuming than a PCR test, for example, and can take up to a matter of days to process.
“Rather than doing one PCR, [it’s similar to] doing about 90 PCRs, and then we're getting the actual sequence of the product,” he said. “We put this all together so that we actually see the entire genetic code of that one virus.”
Not only is this tedious, but it’s also expensive, Smieja said. As a result, it’s often not done for every single positive COVID-19 case reported, but rather a sampling, he said. In Ontario, there are five main labs that provide whole genome sequencing, Smieja said, and they only look at a percentage of the province’s positive cases to determine how many are associated with each variant.
“They're not going to do that for every positive [case], that's too much work,” he said.
But even with just a percentage of positive cases to analyze, scientists have noticed the variant’s alarmingly rapid rate of spreading within the province, said Smieja.
“We're seeing in most of our labs over 90 per cent of new infections of COVID are now Omicron,” he said. “In two weeks, it’s gone from very, very rare to overwhelmingly the most common [variant].”
In Alberta, Omicron has already become the dominant strain of COVID-19. The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, has said that anyone who continues to test positive should now assume they have Omicron. In this scenario, keeping track of different strains becomes less of a problem, said Gregson.
“If all the cookies in the box are chocolate chip, you don't have to taste them all to know that they’re all chocolate chip,” he said.
DO RAPID ANTIGEN TESTS REVEAL A VARIANT?
All existing COVID-19 variants can be detected by rapid antigen tests commonly used in Canada, said Smieja, even Omicron.
These tests, however, only provide results on whether or not someone has COVID-19. They are not able to tell whether someone has specifically been infected with the Omicron variant. This is because these tests target the N-gene product, or the nucleocapsid protein, as opposed to the spike protein, explained Gregson.
“It's not going to pick up these variants of concern, which are primarily in the spike region,” he said. “You could theoretically have a variant of concern that has a mutation in the N-gene that affects your antigen detection kits, but that's not what we've seen so far.”
Still, they can be easily delivered to a large number of people and provide quick test results. But Smieja insisted they are not a replacement for the PCR test.
“PCR always can detect much smaller amounts of virus [and] remains the gold standard for ill people, for people with suspected COVID who get admitted to hospital, and in general, any symptomatic person,” he said.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.