Omicron Multiplies 70 Times Faster Inside Human Respiratory Tract, But Spares Lungs

With experts giving a Covid19 third wave warning, India is bracing for new cases in the wake of the Omicron variant taking over.

Medical researchers are trying to understand more about this new rapidly spreading variant. Scientists are scrambling to figure out how this heavily-mutated virus spreads so quickly and affects so many people while sparing the lungs, which have been the main target of the Covid-19 respiratory disease.

According to researchers at the University of Hong Kong, the Omicron variant replicates 70 times quicker inside human respiratory tract tissue than the Delta form. In comparison to Delta, Omicron reaches higher tissue levels 48 hours after infection.

"The studies suggest that Omicron mutations have accelerated the process of penetrating or replicating (or both) inside the tissue," according to NPR. According to a slew of research, it is less severe than the preceding variations since it does not produce as much lung damage.

According to a study conducted by a group of US and Japanese scientists on hamsters and mice by a group of US and Japanese scientists, those infected with Omicron had less lung damage, lost less weight, and were less likely to die than those infected with other forms.