Scientists evaluate impact of omicron strain on lungs

A new strain of CORONAVIRUS, omicron, may cause less severe COVID-19 because it infects the lungs less than other variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This conclusion was made by a group of American and Japanese scientists from the Medical School of the University of Washington, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Tokyo.

The preprint of the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed and has not received an assessment of the expert community, was published in Research Square, The New York Times drew attention to it.

Scientists conducted experiments on mice and hamsters and found that "omicron" affected mainly the upper respiratory tract - the nose and nasopharynx, and spread to the lungs much less frequently than other strains of coronavirus.

Animals infected with the omicron, on average, experienced milder symptoms of the disease and were less likely to experience weight loss. Previous versions of the coronavirus caused scarring in the lungs and severe breathing difficulties.