The gist According to a preliminary British study, people infected with the Omicron variant are more likely to develop symptoms. The researchers also observed a large change in the symptoms described by patients affected by the virus.
It is a particularly important preliminary study that shakes ideas received on the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which was published on the scientific website medRxiv last Monday, May 23. In a study funded by the Department of Health and Social Care in England, several researchers from Imperial College of London showed that a person infected with the Omicron variant was more likely to develop symptoms than with any other strain of the virus.
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The study ran for nearly two years, from May 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022, and closely examined the symptoms of nearly 1.5 million randomly selected people with Covid-19. According to the results shared by the scientists, 45% of people affected by the original SARS-CoV-2 strain developed symptoms, compared to 55% with the alpha variant, 64% with the delta variant and finally 70% with omicron .
Form \ud83c\udff4?????? on COVID and symptoms depending on the variant:
\ud83d\udc49there are MORE symptomatic forms (45% original stem, 55% alpha, 64% delta, >70% omicron)
\ud83d\udc49 + de Sd influenza, bcp – loss of taste / smell
\ud83d\ude18 to those who claimed otherwisehttps://t.co/kf10UC6B2i pic.twitter.com/OTsmegPn7T
—Bio_Saiyan (@SaiyanBio) May 24, 2022
“Contrary to the perception that the newer variants have become less virulent, individuals infected with the BA.2 subvariant are actually more likely to describe symptoms […] with major disruptions to daily activities,” say the researchers.
Less loss of taste and smell
It remains to be seen whether the symptoms developed are more virulent than what has been observed with previous strains of the virus. This study also provides new details: “We had fewer reports of possible loss of smell and taste for Omicron compared to the previous variants and more reports of cold and flu-like symptoms,” explain researchers from Imperial College of London.
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When asked by La Dépêche du Midi, Fronton’s family doctor, Jérôme Marty, had explained, among other things, that the Omicron variant and its BA.2 subvariant “nest” in the upper respiratory tract, whereas previously the previous variants of the virus would die meet bronchi. “Omicron and BA.2 have a much greater impact on the so-called “ENT” sphere, which includes the face, ear (internal and external), nose, sinuses, mouth and tongue, pharynx (larynx, trachea ) includes , etc.), salivary glands, thyroid and throat,” summarized Dr. Marty.