Friday, August 19, 2022

Over half of people infected with the omicron variant didn't know it, a study finds

By Shauneen Miranda
NPR
Published August 19, 2022 

Al Bello/Getty Images
The majority of people likely infected with the omicron variant of COVID-19 were unaware, according to a study from a medical center in Los Angeles, Calif.

The majority of people likely infected with the omicron variant that causes COVID-19 were not aware they contracted the virus, which likely played a role in the rapid spread of omicron, according to a study published this week.

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai, a nonprofit health organization based in Los Angeles, examined the infectious status of individuals during the omicron surge in the U.S.

Omicron was first detected in November 2021 and has become the most dominant strain of COVID-19. Common symptoms are typically less severe than other variants and include cough, headache, fatigue, sore throat and a runny nose, according to the researchers.

What did researchers find?

The study analyzed 2,479 blood samples from adult employees and patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center around the time of the omicron variant surge.

Of the 210 people who likely contracted the omicron variant — based on antibodies in their blood — 56% percent did not know they had the virus, the researchers found.

They also found that only 10% of those who were unaware reported having any symptoms relating to a common cold or other type of infection.

"We hope people will read these findings and think, 'I was just at a gathering where someone tested positive,' or, 'I just started to feel a little under the weather. Maybe I should get a quick test,'" said Dr. Susan Cheng, one of the authors of the study.

"The better we understand our own risks, the better we will be at protecting the health of the public as well as ourselves," said Cheng, who directs the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai's Smidt Heart Institute.

The findings help us understand how omicron spreads

A lack of awareness could be a major factor in the rapid transmission of the virus between individuals, according to the study.

"Our study findings add to evidence that undiagnosed infections can increase transmission of the virus," said Dr. Sandy Y. Joung, first author of the study who serves as an investigator at Cedars-Sinai.

"A low level of infection awareness has likely contributed to the fast spread of Omicron," Young said.

Although awareness among health care employees was slightly higher, the researchers said it remained low overall.

Researchers say further studies are needed, "involving larger numbers of people from diverse ethnicities and communities ... to learn what specific factors are associated with a lack of infection awareness," according to the news release.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org

Many Omicron Patients Unintentionally Spread This COVID-19 Variant: Study

Aug 17, 2022 
 By Luigi Caler

Many COVID-19 patients infected with the omicron variant could be spreading the virus unintentionally.

A small study published in JAMA Network Open Wednesday revealed that more than half or around 56% of omicron patients could be spreading the virus without knowing it because they are also oblivious to their condition.

“In 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 could be completely unaware of their infectious status, so this could have led to more transmissions.

“Findings of this study suggest that low rates of omicron variant infection awareness may be a key contributor to [the] rapid transmission of the virus within communities,” the researchers noted.

For the study, the team analyzed data from adult employees and patients of the academic medical center, Cedars-Sinai, in Los Angeles County, California. The participants provided two blood samples for antibody testing — one before and another after the omicron surge.

It is worth noting that most of the participants were vaccinated. All 210 adults were asked to fill out health surveys describing their symptoms. They also had COVID-19 PCR testing to determine if they got infected during the study period.

Prior studies indicated that at least 25% and possibly as many as 80% of people with SARS-CoV-2 might not experience symptoms. Compared to other variants, omicron was found to cause less severe symptoms, especially in vaccinated individuals.

The most common symptoms of the omicron variant include fatigue, cough, runny nose, sore throat and headache. Because of this, some patients may brush their condition off as a simple 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 author 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 was just at a gathering where someone tested positive,’ or, ‘I just started to feel a little under the weather. Maybe I should get a quick test.’ The better we understand our own risks, the better we will be at protecting the health of the public as well as ourselves,” added corresponding author and director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Susan Cheng, MD, MPH.

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