Omicron variant of COVID likely to infect throat than lungs, claim new studies

Recent studies have suggested that the fast-growing Omicron variant of Coronavirus, is more likely to infect the throat than the lungs. Six studies, four of which have been published in the last one week, indicated that Omicron does not harm people's lungs as much as Delta and other variants of Coronavirus.

However, the studies have not been yer peer-reviewed by other scientists.  According to Deenan Pillay, professor of virology at University College London, the result of all the mutations that distinguish Omicron from previous variants may have altered its propensity to infect different types of cells. 

"In other words, it appears to be more capable of infecting cells in the upper respiratory tract, such as those in the throat. As a result, it would multiply faster in those cells than in cells deeper in the lungs. Although this is just a hypothesis but the studies all point in the same direction," Pillay added as per The Guardian. He further went on to say that if the virus creates more cells in the throat, it becomes more transmissible, which may explain Omicron's rapid spread. On the other hand, a virus that is good at infecting lung tissue will be potentially more harmful but less transmissible. 

According to Prof James Stewart, researchers from the University of Liverpool's Molecular Virology Research Group published a pre-print on December 26 that reveals Omicron causes "less severe disease" in mice. Mice infected with Omicron lose less weight, have lower viral loads and have less severe pneumonia, according to the study. "It's one piece of the jigsaw. The disease appears to be less severe in the animal model than Delta and the original Wuhan virus. It appears to clear up faster, and the animals recover more quickly, which corresponds to clinical findings," he added as per The Guardian.

The Neyts Lab at Leuven University in Belgium discovered comparable results in Syrian hamsters, with a decreased viral burden in the lungs compared to other variants. This could be because the virus was better at infecting people than hamsters, or because it was more likely to infect the upper respiratory tract, or because it caused less severe sickness, according to Prof Johan Neyts. Researchers in the United States also discovered that mice with Omicron lost less weight and had a lower viral load, according to a pre-print published in Nature last week. 

Omicron could overtake Delta as the 'most dominant' variant by 2022: Scientists

Meanwhile, researchers at the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow have discovered evidence that Omicron has altered the way it enters the body. Omicron was significantly more likely to evade immunisation in those who had received two doses of the vaccination, but a booster dose "restored partial protection," they claimed as per The Guardian. The Omicron variant has been categorised as a "Variant of Concern" by the World Health Organization. According to a statistical analysis undertaken by South African scientists, the Omicron variant could overtake Delta as the most dominant variant by 2022. 

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