On November 26, Year 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated a new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, which became known as Omicron.
Omicron has caused concern among health authorities because it appears to be highly transmissible and likelier to reinfect.
There have also been some worries that Omicron can bypass the protection conferred by vaccines.
So that, countries worldwide have been taking various measures and precautions to reduce the spread of Omicron among their populations.
Nevertheless, within a world in constant motion, it may be impossible to stop it from spreading allover.
But how can someone tell if they have the Omicron infection? Are the symptoms the same as those of infections with previous variants?
What symptoms does Omicron cause?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the possible symptoms of a SARS-CoV-2 infection without specifying a variant.
Likes,
fever or chills
cough
shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
fatigue
muscle or body aches
headache
new loss of taste or smell
sore throat
congestion or runny nose
nausea or vomiting
diarrhea
However, the CDC notes this list is not exhaustive, and people might experience different symptoms.
The Zoe COVID Study — conducted by researchers from health science company ZOE and King’s College London in the United Kingdom — uses data from over 4,000,000 participants.
The study’s recent analysis aimed to determine whether there were any differences between the most common symptoms of infection with the Delta variant and the most common symptoms of infection with Omicron.
They compared symptoms reported via the Zoe COVID Study app by UK participants who tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2021, when Delta was dominant in the UK
Those who all are tested positive in December 2021 when Omicron had become the dominant variant.
Preliminary analysis indicated that the most commonly reported symptoms reported in both months were largely the similar : a runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, and a sore throat.
The findings suggest no big differences in the most commonly experienced symptoms, likely caused by the two SARS-CoV-2 variants.
However, according to this self-reported data, the ZOE scientists also note that loss of smell and taste appear to be less similar among people recently testing positive for COVID.
How can you detect Omicron infections?
There have also been some anecdotal reports that lateral flow tests — also known as LFT — may be less effective at detecting the presence of an Omicron infection.
Such tests, which people can do at home, are based on samples taken from a person’s nose, throat, or both and are meant to detect certain viral antigens which indicate the presence of a viral infection.
Doctor Cutler says that, “lateral flow tests are inherently inaccurate [because] [t]hey do not detect low levels of virus as well as PCR tests.”
RT-PCR tests, or PCR for short, are based on samples taken from both a person’s nose and throat.
These samples, however, undergo laboratory testing, which can tells whether SARS-CoV-2 specific genes are present. RT-PCR tests are more sensitive and generally held as being more accurate.
Testing for genetic markers can also reveal, more specifically, the SARS-CoV-2 breed.
Some health agencies, such as the UK Health Security Agency (UK HSA), have nevertheless declared that, when used correctly, LFT should detect infections with any SARS-CoV-2 variant in most cases.
A laboratory evaluation of lateral flow devices currently in use in the UK by the UK HSA also suggests that LFT detect Omicron as effectively as previous variants.
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