A recent study conducted by the Institute of Liver and Biliary Services in Delhi has indicated community transmission of the Omicron variant as majority of patients infected with the strain had no history.
The Department of Virology’s research found out that the out of 264 cases in sample, 68.9% (182) were identified as Delta variant and its sub-lineages while 31.06% (82) were Omicron variant with BA.1 as the predominant sub-lineage (73.1%).
It also revealed that most of the Omicron cases were asymptomatic (50.61%) and did not require any hospitalisations.
The study noted that the “respiratory specimen of all RT-PCR confirmed positive cases between November 25 – December 23, 2021, collected from five districts of Delhi were subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Complete demographic and clinical details were also recorded. Hence, we analysed the formation of local and familial clusters and eventual community transmission.”
Of the 264 cases, 72 (87.8%) were fully vaccinated and only 39.1% (32) had a history of travel or contacts. The rest of 60.9% (50) signaled towards a community transmission.
“Our findings strongly suggest that Omicron has a much higher rate of asymptomatic carriage resulting in high prevalence of asymptomatic infection, a likely major factor in the rapid dissemination of the variant locally and globally. Our results suggest a large decrease in protection from vaccine or natural immunity against COVID-19 infections caused by the Omicron variant,” noted the study. Out of 82 Omicron patients, 72 were fully vaccinated with 56 per cent of the individuals having received Covishield, followed by Covaxin (12 per cent), Pfizer (11 per cent), Moderna (four per cent), Sputnik V (four per cent) and Johnson and Johnson (one per cent).
The study, possibly the first in India to provide evidence of community transmission of Omicron, looked into genome sequencing data of positive cases collected from five districts of Delhi — South, Southeast, Southwest, West and East — between November 25 and December 23 last year.
Omicron, which is spreading like a wildfire across the globe, has changed the symptoms of Covid-19 as just 13 per cent of infected people now lose their smell or taste and sore throat is now 80 per cent more common.
According to an analysis by government scientists, Britons who catch the virus are now 80 per cent more likely to suffer a sore throat than they were three months ago when Delta was the dominant strain, reports the Daily Mail.
But the loss of taste and smell is now much less likely to affect Covid-positive people, striking just a third of those it was previously, the report said.
Other hallmarks of the virus such as a runny nose, fever and cough are still just as likely to be experienced by sufferers of the new variant.
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