According to brand-new research study from Cedars-Sinai, the majority of individuals that were infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, didnt know they had the virus.
Cedars-Sinai researchers find that 56% were uninformed they were infected with the infection that triggers COVID-19.
Most of individuals who were likely contaminated with the Omicron version of SARS-CoV-2, the infection that causes COVID-19, didnt know they had the virus. This is according to a new study from Cedars-Sinai private investigators. The findings were released on August 17, 2022, in JAMA Network Open.
” More than one in every two individuals who were infected with Omicron didnt understand they had it,” said Susan Cheng, MD, MPH. Cheng is director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study. “Awareness will be key for allowing us to move beyond this pandemic.”
Previous studies have estimated that a minimum of 25% and perhaps as many as 80% of individuals contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 may not experience any symptoms. Compared to other SARS-CoV-2 variations, the Omicron variant is related to generally less extreme signs that may consist of fatigue, headache, cough, aching throat, or a runny nose.
” Our study findings include to evidence that undiagnosed infections can increase transmission of the infection,” said Sandy Y. Joung, MHDS, a private investigator at Cedars-Sinai and the very first author of the research study. “A low level of infection awareness has likely added to the quick spread of Omicron.”
The detectives began collecting blood samples from health care employees more than two years back as part of research study into the results of COVID-19 and the impact of vaccines. In the fall of 2021, right before the omicron variant surge started, the investigators had the ability to expand enrollment to include clients, thanks to study infrastructure and biospecimen processing assistance provided by Sapient Bioanalytics.
Of the healthcare employees and clients who participated in the research, investigators determined 2,479 individuals who had contributed blood samples just prior to or after the start of the Omicron surge. Based on freshly favorable levels of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in their blood, the private investigators recognized 210 individuals who likely were contaminated with the Omicron version.
Next, the private investigators welcomed research study individuals to offer health status updates through studies and interviews. Simply 44% of study individuals with newly positive SARS-CoV-2 antibodies had awareness of being contaminated with the virus.
According to the detectives, more studies involving bigger numbers of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds and neighborhoods are needed to learn what particular aspects are connected with an absence of infection awareness.
” We hope individuals will check out these findings and believe, I was simply at a gathering where somebody tested favorable, or, I just started to feel a little under the weather condition. Maybe I should get a quick test. The much better we understand our own threats, the much better we will be at protecting the health of the general public as well as ourselves,” said Cheng, the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Womens Cardiovascular Health and Population Science at Cedars-Sinai.
Cheng and associates are also studying patterns and predictors of reinfections and their potential to offer long-lasting resistance to SARS-CoV-2. In addition to raising awareness, this details could assist individuals manage their individual threat.
Referral: “Awareness of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infection Among Adults With Recent COVID-19 Seropositivity” by Sandy Y. Joung, MHDS; Joseph E. Ebinger, MD, MS; Nancy Sun, MPS; Yunxian Liu, PhD; Min Wu, MPH; Amber B. Tang, MD; John C. Prostko; Edwin C. Frias; James L. Stewart, PhD; Kimia Sobhani, PhD and Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, 17 August 2022, JAMA Network Open.DOI: 10.1001/ jamanetworkopen.2022.27241.
Other Cedars-Sinai investigators who dealt with this research study include Joseph E. Ebinger, MD; Nancy Sun, MPS; Yunxian Liu, PhD; Min Wu, MPH, and Kimia Sobhani, PhD.
Discover more about this continuous COVID-19 research study here.
Funding: The research study was moneyed by the Erika J. Glazer Family Foundation and Sapient Bioanalytics LLC.
Disclosures: Kimia Sobhani, PhD, has worked as an expert for Abbott Diagnostics and Sapient Bioanalytics, a business that supported the collection and processing of samples for this study.
The bulk of people who were likely infected with the Omicron variation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that triggers COVID-19, didnt understand they had the virus. This is according to a brand-new research study from Cedars-Sinai detectives. Cheng is director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai and matching author of the study. Next, the investigators invited study individuals to offer health status updates through interviews and surveys. Just 44% of study participants with recently positive SARS-CoV-2 antibodies had awareness of being contaminated with the infection.
