Like all the countries of the continent, Italy is also grappling with a wave of cases led by the variants of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, destined to become dominant in Europe by the end of July. According to the latest survey conducted by the ISS and the Ministry of Health together with the regional laboratories and the Bruno Kessler Foundation, on 5 July the Omicron variant had an estimated prevalence of 100%, with the BA.5 sub-variant predominant (75.5 %), followed by BA 4 (13.2%), BA.2 (10.3%) and BA.1 (0.6%). After two years of pandemic, it is now evident that Covid-19 changes rapidly and can affect in different ways, depending on sex, age and the presence of previous diseases. But not only that, the appearance of always new variants has caused the symptoms, but also the aggressiveness and contagiousness of the virus to evolve. If before the virus was highly contagious where people had never encountered the disease or given vaccinations, now its advantage lies in the ability to evade the immune response, and reinfect those who have recovered from the disease. “The rapid spread of BA.4 and BA.5 – explained the ECDC (the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control) in its latest epidemiological update on Covid – is probably due to the ability to evade the immune protection induced by a previous infection and / or vaccination, in particular if immunity has decreased over time “. “If you are infected with Ba.1, then, you risk reinfecting yourself with BA.4 and BA.5,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the foremost expert on infectious diseases in the United States.
But apparently, to characterize the dominant variant in this latest wave of infections is also a new symptom, quite common among the most recent Covid patients, which is added to those typical of Omicron’s “sisters”, such as sore throat, nose stuffy or runny, frequent sneezing and headache. This is a very intense night sweat that can lead to wet clothing and bedding, making it difficult to sleep. He was brought to the attention by Luke O’Neill of Trinity College Dublin, professor of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, in a recent interview with an Irish radio.
Night sweats are a feature of Omicron 5
Among the symptoms that have recently been found in people affected by Covid there is an intense and accentuated night sweats which tends to occur not only during the period of active infection, but which also persists for several weeks after recovery. “The disease is slightly different because the virus has changed,” O’Neill said. “There is some immunity – with T cells of course and so on – and that mix of slightly different immune systems and viruses could give rise to a slightly different disease, strangely night sweats are a feature. But, very importantly, if you are vaccinated and boostered, it does not progress to a serious disease. This is the message to keep reminding people ”.
Omicron and sleep disorders
To confirm this symptom reported by thousands of patients around the world also Dr. Amir Khan, physician of the National Health Service of the United Kingdom and expert in virology and microbiology. “Watch out for night sweats as a sign of having a molecular swab. The appearance of symptoms such as the intense sweat produced during the hours of sleep could be a factor attributable to the presence of the virus inside our body “. “It could in fact be Covid that has an impact on sleep regulation in our brain, given that – continued Khan – neurological effects have been reported by various institutes that are studying the most frequent symptoms among positive cases” .
Then there are those who warn against the possibility of interpreting this symptom in a fallacious way and reaching easy conclusions, such as Dr. Kat Lederle, an expert in sleep therapy at the University of Guildford, in the south of England. “It is true – she declared Lederle -, we have found a frequent tendency of nocturnal disturbances among the most recent cases of people who tested positive. Everything suggests that they are symptoms attributable to the Omicron variant, but we cannot say for sure. We need long-term feedback that we do not have for now ”.
The other symptoms of Omicron 5
Therefore, there are still no official data on how widespread the symptom of night sweating is in Covid patients, but experts say it is a symptom that should not be underestimated because it could indicate the presence of the infection. According to the latest data from the Zoe Covid Symptom Study, based on self-reported symptoms via the app, the most frequently recorded symptoms (over 60% of reports) are runny nose (66%), sore throat (65%), sore throat head (64%), persistent cough (67%), fatigue (62%). Less frequent, however, are hoarse voice (44%), joint and muscle pain (35%), fever (31%), chills (30%). Other symptoms that were previously very common – such as loss of smell, shortness of breath and fever – are now reported less commonly, ranking at the bottom of the list of most common symptoms, 6th, 29th and 8th respectively.
The new “Centaurus” variant makes its way around the world
While Omicron 4 and 5 run fast all over the world, the new Indian variant, the BA.2.75, renamed by social media “Centaurus”, is now making its way, which, after the first cases reported in May in India, has already widespread in the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Australia, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, Nepal and Indonesia. According to early evidence, this strain appears to be even more contagious and more elusive than immunity acquired with vaccination or infection. But there is no evidence that it can cause severe forms of the disease. According to some forecasts, it will also arrive in Italy in September, once the Omicron 5 peak has been passed.
(Source: Today)