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 compared to the lungs, which scientists say could explain why it appears to 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.
“The result of all the mutations that make Omicron different from previous variants could be the impaired ability to infect different types of cells,” said Deenan Pillay, professor of virology at University College London.
“Essentially, it appears to be more capable of infecting the upper respiratory tract, the 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 Omicron’s rapid spread. On the other hand, a virus capable of penetrating as far as lung tissue 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, they would a lower viral load and would suffer from less severe lung diseases. This is a “first piece of the puzzle” and in 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, Belgium, arrived at similar results after a series of studies on hamsters. On the same wavelength an American ‘pre-print’ study submitted to Nature. From Glasgow, on the other hand, 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.
The new features of the Omicron ‘branded’ virus fuel the debate on the effectiveness of rapid tampons: Could they give more reliable results if used to take throat samples? 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 “.