Scientists have found that a person with an omicron is most contagious in the first three days - this is the period during which the peak viral load on the body occurs. However, patients can be contagious for up to 10 days. According to the doctors interviewed, the new data on the "omicron" strain will help doctors and authorities who monitor changes in the course of COVID-19 and adjust the length of the sick leave. The peak viral load on the body falls on the first three days after infection with "omicron" - a corresponding study by American scientists is published on MedRxiv. Peak viral load is an indicator of the amount of virus in the body, explains doctor Yevgeny Timakov.
“A virus is not a living substance, it is a pure recorded genetic code, which, let’s say, is “lying around” in the external environment in a protective shell. It needs a host to reproduce. It takes root inside his healthy cells. And using the building material of our body, that is, proteins, enzyme systems and other building blocks, it multiplies,” Timakov said.
According to him, when "omicron" is introduced, the body still does not have any protection against it, so it begins to actively multiply. Only after three days, the immune system turns on specific protective functions, forms antibodies and begins to destroy this virus. As a result, the viral load on the body is reduced.
“It is during the period of peak viral load that a person becomes most contagious. The greater the viral load, the more virus is released into the external environment. These are indicators that correlate with each other. At the same time, different viruses behave differently. For example, the previous strain of coronavirus, "delta", multiplied in the body within a week. And the omicron strain, judging by the scientific article of American scientists, has a peak load in the first three days,” the expert explained.
Scientists from the Yale School of Public Health and the Mirimus Lab have published a preprint presenting the results of a study of omicron contamination.
As part of the work, scientists took 37 infected subjects, all of whom had previously been vaccinated. Daily PCR testing was carried out to find out for what day the virus is not detected in the body of the infected.
As a result, scientists were able to find out that the peak viral load on the body occurs in the first three days of illness - this can be seen from the graphs shown in the study. After three days, the viral load in most patients began to fall. "Omicron" disappeared from the body in an average of 7-9 days.
Andrey Prodeus, a pediatrician-immunologist and doctor of medical sciences, noted that the peak of the viral load depends on the state of the infected person's body.
“The peak load of the virus on the body is individual for each person and general rules cannot be established in this case. No one can guarantee that a patient with poor immunity, obesity and other diseases will suddenly recover after the third peak day. He can get worse every day, ”the interlocutor believes.
The study also reports that some people may pose a danger to others for up to 10 days after being infected with a new strain of coronavirus. On the 12th day, none of the patients had a positive test.
“It is important to note that the article provides data on the vaccinated,” explains Pavel Volchkov, head of the MIPT Laboratory of Genomic Engineering. “Moreover, they were not infected with the Wuhan strain, the S-protein of which is the basis of the vaccine, but with the “omicron.”
Since "omicron" is strongly genetically modified in relation to Wuhan, antibodies to it are formed not in three days - as it would be with a classic re-infection - but in 4 or more. Therefore, the viral load on the 4th day subsides, as the immune system begins to work.
According to the virologist, this is important new data that doctors and authorities should take into account. Some time ago, Russia reduced the length of sick leave for COVID-19. Perhaps recent scientific research will help correct this decision.
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