Researchers believe that the fact that OMICRON FOCUSED ON THE THROAT, would explain why this variant is more infectious but less deadly.
“Ómicron seems more capable of infecting the upper respiratory tract and affecting cells in the throat. It is very preliminary, but ongoing studies point in this direction,” said Deenan Pillay, professor of virology at the University College de Londres.
The researcher pointed out that the different mutations would have altered the infectivity of the virus. Therefore, in the case that the Covid-19 enter the human body, it will produce more cells in the throat, which would increase its transmissibility.
On the other hand, reports the work published in the United Kingdom, the variants that most affect the Health of the pulmonary system are potentially more dangerous, although less contagious.
Preliminary reports on Omicron
According to the English newspaper The Guardian, another of the published works, carried out by a group of molecular virology researchers from the Liverpool University, notes that Ómicron causes “less severe disease” in mice, explains Professor James Stewart.
Mice infected with the new variant lost less weight, had a lower viral load and suffered less severe pneumonia. Scientists from the US have reached the same conclusion.
“Animal testing suggests that Omicron is less severe than the original Wuhan virus or the variant. The animals recovered more quickly,” Stewart added.
For its part, the team of Neyts Lab of the Leuven University of Belgium, has reached similar conclusions in an experiment with hamsters. These animals subjected to the Omicron variant had a lower viral load in the lungs compared to other variants.
Meanwhile, in the University of Glasgow (Scotland), Scientists at the Virus Research Center have determined that Ómicron has led to a change in the way the coronavirus enters the body. They observed that just as it escapes the immunity of people who have received two doses of the vaccine, the third dose “partially recovers that immunity.”
These studies are in line with those published in the University of Hong Kong and Cambridge University, which concluded that Ómicron affects the lungs less. And although it is capable of outwitting vaccines, it has a more difficult time penetrating the cells of the lungs.