Der Lebensmittelhandel fordert die Verhinderung der neuen EU Richtlinie zur Gentechnik. 🙈

Warum? Protektionismus! Produzenten werden so noch mehr an den Handel gekettet.

Und für VerbraucherInnen ist das eindeutig die schlechtere Lösung.
1/
ots.at/presseaussendu… Das Wichtigste zuerst: Die neue Gentechnik (CRISPR) erlaubt sehr kleine, punktuelle Mutationen und kann Züchtung durch radioaktive Bestrahlung (z.B. pink Grapefruit) ersetzen. Dabei verhindert sie ungewollte Mutationen und ist damit viel sicherer als konventionelle Verfahren.
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Danke, @abergthaler für das Abwasser Update! JN.1 Anteil verdoppelt sich international jede Woche, Proben vor 2 Wochen zeigen hier ~10%, wir könnten also schon in der nächsten Woche JN.1 Dominanz in 🇦🇹 erreichen. Dann ist noch Luft nach oben in der Welle🥴

https://twitter.com/abergthaler/status/1729740561882493339

So frühe Dominanz von JN.1 hat weitreichende Konsequenzen.
- Es kommt nicht zu zwei Wellen vor und nach Weihnachten, sondern XBB und JN.1 kommt überlappend.
-auch RSV und Info beginnt
- Der Schutz der Impfung vor Ansteckung (nur!) ist schon ab Dezember deutlich herabgesetzt.
2/n

Nun zeigt auch das wirklich gute Abwassermonitoring in Tirol ein deutliches Signal: Die Schätzung ergibt bis zu 4% der Bevölkerung Covid positiv. 1/n
tirol.gv.at/gesundheit-vor…
Derweil haben wir national den Rekordwert an SARS-CoV-2 Konzentration im Abwasser erreicht. 2/n
abwassermonitoring.at/dashboard/

Wir steuern auf eine der höchsten Covid-Wellen jemals zu.

Mit Ende der Rhino-Interferenz und Beginn der Kälte lange erwartet. Noch nicht von Pirola/JN.1 verursacht, wird aber auch kommen. Wir erwarten keine überfüllten Intensivstationen, aber sonst das Übliche... 1/2 Selber Trend in mehreren Europäischen Ländern soweit Daten vorhanden. Wäre jetzt halt klug i) frisch geimpft zu sein ii) Maske zu tragen iii) Rücksicht zu nehmen.

Zur Erinnerung: Für Geimpfte gab es de facto keine Erstinfektion. Nein, Corona ist kein Schnupfen. 2/2

🇦🇹 After 114 next generation sequencing runs without a single failed one and a total of 217 302 successfully sequenced SARS-CoV-2 samples this is the final SARSeq report for Austria. The pipeline was a very successful partnership of academia and the state of Austria.
1/ Set up within 2 weeks with @Lcochella, @yelagandula_ram and others in response to Alpha , @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw, @IMPvienna, and the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety @agesnews provided a great example of how science can contribute to society and emergency response.
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🇦🇹 Representative genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria week 11, 2023 across most regions. Current analysis includes samples until March 9th allowing faithful nowcasting. A collaboration of #AGES @agesnews and @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw.
1/6 With 2688 successfully sequenced samples this week Austria still has a remarkably good overview over the pandemic and become an international role model in surveillance.
2/6

Today the intergovernmental panel on climate change is gathering. “The evidence has been clear, convincing and irrefutable. (…) We are at the tip of a tipping point.” Says Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, March 13th 2023
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un.org/sg/en/content/… … But the Austrian chancellor just called it “Doomsday Madness” and points out that some “excellent authors” proof it to be a essentially a hoax.
2/7

https://twitter.com/i_am_fabs/status/1634490143703810049

🇦🇹 Representative genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria week 10, 2023 across most regions. Current analysis includes samples until March 3rd allowing faithful nowcasting. A collaboration of #AGES @agesnews and @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw.
1/4 Based on reported case numbers at least, XBB.1.5 appears to have passed it’s peak. This trend is less obvious but also seen in wastewater, see page 10 in the link below:
corona-ampel.gv.at/sites/corona-a…
2/4

🇦🇹 Representative genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria week 8, 2023 across all regions. Current analysis includes samples until February 15th allowing faithful nowcasting. A collaboration of #AGES @agesnews and @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw.
1/4 XBB.1.5 continues to grow and makes up ~60% of cases now in nowcasting. Shown here are the relative fractions within the total reported (!) cases.
2/4

🇦🇹 Representative genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria week 7, 2023 across all regions. Current analysis includes samples until February 8th allowing faithful nowcasting, sample numbers dropping though. A collaboration of #AGES @agesnews and @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw.
1/6 Current significant growth in incidence is almost exclusively due to XBB.1.5, that reached >50% of cases now.
2/6

Eine Initiative, das gesellschaftliche Corona-Trauma aufzuarbeiten, wie Kanzler Nehammer anregt, wäre ja prinzipiell sehr begrüßenswert.
Zuerst sollten wir aber diskutieren, daß das Virus jeden einzelnen und uns gemeinsam an die Grenzen gebracht hat.
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derstandard.at/story/20001435… Deshalb sollten die individuellen und gemeinsamen Be- und Überlastungen verarbeitet werden. Wer wurde wann warum über die Maßen belastet? Auch wer hat wann wo ungerecht profitiert?
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🇦🇹 Representative genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria week 2, 2023 across all regions. Current analysis includes samples until January 5th allowing faithful nowcasting. A collaboration of #AGES @agesnews and @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw.
1/5 The variant situation for Austria changed dramatically between the years. While we had a swarm of lineages growing in numbers until Christmas, it is now just one lineage showing growth: XBB.1.5.
2/5

🇦🇹 Representative genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria. This is our analysis run number 100, so I would like to start by thanking the entire SARSeq team. One hundred successful analysis rounds straight is an amazing achievement, congratulations to everyone!
1/ With @LCochella and @yelagandula_ram we initiated the task of nationwide surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in an academic setting in response to the Alpha variant. A great collaboration between #AGES @agesnews, @IMPvienna and @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw. And a big responsibility!
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Important work on the wild reservoirs of SARS-CoV 1 and 2 and a new SARS-CoV-SARS-CoV-2 recombinant in a paper that just went online summarized here 🧵:
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
1/11 Yunnan Province at the southern tip of China is a hotspot for bats and bat viruses. Closest relatives of SARS-CoV as well as SARS-CoV-2 are found here and different bat species are living in caves together.
2/11

🇦🇹 Representative genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Austria in week 42 across all regions. Nowcasting in dashed box shows the current situation. A collaboration of #AGES @agesnews and @IMBA_Vienna/@oeaw.
1/6 BA.5 with R346T has reached ~25% now. New variants such as BQ.1(.1) and XBB show clear growth. BQ.1(.1) currently at ~8%, XBB<1%.
2/6

🧵To mask or not to mask, this is the question again.

With winter starting in the northern hemisphere, masks are discussed many places. Some thoughts within the range of realistic options:

A.For societies
B.For individuals A. Any form of enforced mask mandate as seen in some countries previously of course is a stress test for societies and generally disfavoured by most, but also requested by many. Some arguments for society level reactions:

Currently there is a trend towards convergent evolution in SARS-CoV-2. But is that the whole picture? All roads to Rome and that’s it? Or where do we go from here?

My 2 cents in an illustrated 😊 thread….
1/ We have built a polyclonal B-cell immunity to counteract a SARS-CoV-2 infection, that we all cherish. But as we get closer to the edge of it, mutations in the spike protein gain more advantage to escape that defense.
2/

Looking like with the latest turn of direction the virus has managed to escape our immune system efficiently yet again.

There is an unprecedented number of highly diverged variants coming up and two brand-new studies shed light on this concerning situation.

Amazing work!
1/ In one study, Ben Murrell and colleagues show five-fold escape from serum neutralization by BA.2.75.2 in pseudovirus assay.
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
2/

Mutational differences between important SARS-CoV-2 lineages within the antibody binding regions of the spike protein. Shown is NTD (defined here as amino acid 1-300) and RBD (301-600) separate and together.
1/4 This rainbow-painted spike (blue to red) shows the N-terminal domain in shades of blue followed by RBD in shades of green for comparison.
2/4

Another sublineage of great concern is expanding in India and has also made landfall in the US and Europe (Austria): BJ.1

Numbers are still very low, but the newly acquired mutations are really a nasty combination in critical places.
1/7 The lineage was noticed already a month ago, you can follow the details and expansion in this pango-designation issue:
github.com/cov-lineages/p…
Thanks to all the colleagues keeping such good track of the variant-zoo!
2/7

Convergent evolution is observed in currently expanding lineages BA.2.75 and a recent recombinant mostly observed in Germany. 🧵1/10 BA.2.75 mutations were discussed previously. Eight mutations on top of the 29 BA.2 mutations in spike and even more distinct from BA.5
2/10

https://twitter.com/EllingUlrich/status/1543546810182017027