Many COVID-19 patients infected with the omicron variant might be spreading the virus unintentionally.
A small study published in JAMA Network Open Wednesday revealed that greater than half or around 56% of omicron patients might be spreading the virus without knowing it because also they are oblivious to their condition.
“On this cohort study of 210 adults with evidence of seroconversion during a regional omicron variant surge, 56% reported being unaware of any recent omicron variant infection,” the researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center wrote.
The team explained that some individuals infected with omicron might be completely unaware of their infectious status, so this might have led to more transmissions.
“Findings of this study suggest that low rates of omicron variant infection awareness could also be a key contributor to [the] rapid transmission of the virus inside communities,” the researchers noted.
For the study, the team analyzed data from adult employees and patients of the tutorial medical center, Cedars-Sinai, in Los Angeles County, California. The participants provided two blood samples for antibody testing — one before and one other after the omicron surge.
It’s price noting that almost all of the participants were vaccinated. All 210 adults were asked to fill out health surveys describing their symptoms. Additionally they had COVID-19 PCR testing to find out in the event that they got infected in the course of the study period.
Prior studies indicated that not less than 25% and possibly as many as 80% of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 won’t experience symptoms. In comparison with other variants, omicron was found to cause less severe symptoms, especially in vaccinated individuals.
Essentially the most common symptoms of the omicron variant include fatigue, cough, runny nose, sore throat and headache. For this reason, some patients may brush their condition off as a straightforward cold or allergy.
“Our study findings add to evidence that undiagnosed infections can increase transmission of the virus. A low level of infection awareness has likely contributed to the fast spread of omicron,” the study’s first writer and a researcher at Cedars-Sinai Sandy Y. Joung, MHDS, said in a media release.
“We hope people will read these findings and think, ‘I used to be just at a gathering where someone tested positive,’ or, ‘I just began to feel somewhat under the weather. Possibly I should get a fast test.’ The higher we understand our own risks, the higher we might be at protecting the health of the general public in addition to ourselves,” added corresponding writer and director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging within the Department of Cardiology on the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Susan Cheng, MD, MPH.