Omicron variant and symptoms: less dangerous for lungs, studies

The Omicron variant appears to cause milder symptoms after faster incubation. Another element is now added to the picture outlined by the various studies relating to the new, more contagious variant of Delta: a growing number of research indicates that the Omicron variant is more likely to infect the throat than the lungs and this according to scientists could explain why it seems be more infectious but less deadly than other versions of the virus. A series of studies – some published close to Christmas – have shown that Omicron, after infections, does not damage people’s lungs as much as the Delta variant other previous Covid variants. The studies in question, the Guardian points out, have yet to be peer reviewed. Read also “The result of all the mutations that make Omicron different from previous variants could be the alteration of the ability to infect different types of cells,” said Deenan Pillay, professor of virology at University College London. “Basically, it appears to be more capable of infecting the upper respiratory tract, throat cells. So it would spread there more easily than into cells deep in the lung. “The result is” preliminary, but studies point in the same direction. “If the virus leaves its mark mainly in the upper airways, this could make it more transmissible and help explain the rapid spread of Omicron. A virus that can penetrate to lung tissue, on the other hand, could potentially be destined to be more dangerous but less transmissible. Researchers from the University of Liverpool’s Molecular Virology Research Group published their work on Boxing Day to highlight that the Omicron variant causes “less severe disease” in mice, according to Professor James Stewart. Guinea pigs, in particular, would be subject to less weight loss, would have a lower viral load and would suffer from less severe lung diseases. This is a “first piece of the puzzle” and in the perspective of “good news” but we must not rush the times: Omicron infects and causes victims. Scientists from the Neyts Lab at the University of Leuven in Belgium have received similar results. , after a series of studies on hamsters. On the same wavelength an American ‘pre-print’ study submitted to Nature. From Glasgow, however, a Scottish study focused on the way in which the virus enters the organism of infected subjects: the barrier represented by the ordinary vaccination cycle is bypassed, but the booster dose restores a high level of protection. of the Omicron virus fuel the debate on the effectiveness of rapid swabs: could they give more reliable results if used to take samples from the throat? Professor Jennifer Rohn of University College London said she tested negative using nasal swabs but positive when she took a sample from her throat. For Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at the University of Warwick, however, it is too early to arrive at a verdict, despite the indications also provided by South Africa: “I do not think this study can be meaningful to reach conclusions, it concerns a few non-symptomatic patients. hospitalized “.