How much virus does a person with COVID-19 exhale? One of the mutations is a real “super spreader”

The summer COVID-19 wave is wreaking havoc on the world. Scientists are trying to figure out why this is happening, and it seems that one of the puzzles has found a solution. People with highly infectious variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus secrete much greater amounts of the virus than patients with other mutations. One sub-variant of Omikron spreads 1000 times more viral RNA than either Alpha or Delta coronaviruses.

1. Research shows that our infectivity during illness may depend on the mutation we have infected
2. Our age and behavior during the disease may also have an impact on how much virus we spread by coughing, sneezing or speaking during an infection.
3. John Volckens, a researcher at Fort Collins University in Colorado, explains: “Studies have shown that all three variants that won the race in terms of how quickly infection spread by coughing or screaming are more effective than the earliest strains of the coronavirus.”
4. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

How much do we exhale the virus when we get sick? The infected sang, screamed and sneezed

2 people infected with the SARS-CoV-2020 virus participated in the ‘Evolution of SARS-CoV-2022 Shedding in Exhaled Breath Aerosols’ study, which ran from mid-93 to early 2. Participants were infected with various variants of the virus, including the Alpha variant that appeared in late 2020, and the later variants Delta and Omikron. All participants infected with the last two coronavirus strains were fully vaccinated before catching the infection.

COVID-19 patients were tested with a device called Gesundheit-II, which separated tiny “aerosol” droplets 5 micrometers or less in diameter that could float in the air and pass through surgical masks. To this end, they stood in front of the cone-shaped device and for half an hour they sang and screamed, coughing and sneezing, which was inevitable during an infection.

During this time, the connected machine was collecting the virus particles they exhaled. The research team combined the breath samples to mimic the actual situation, such as being together in a restaurant or other public place.

We are not all infected with COVID-19 the same way. These variants are more virulent

Researchers found that there were variations in the amount of virus exhaled by patients, ranging from undetectable to high levels, as was the case in people infected with super spreaders. One of the participants infected with Omikron was spreading 1000 times more viral RNA than the maximum levels seen in people with Alpha or Delta.

Participants in the experiment infected with the Alpha, Delta, and Omikron variants emitted significantly more viral RNA on exhalation than those infected with other variants, such as the primary one, first detected in Wuhan, China, and less contagious, such as Gamma, which appeared at the end of 2020. For those infected with Delta and Omicron, their exhalation on average contained five times more virus than other types of virus.

The team also found that four samples taken from study participants with the Delta or Omikron variants infected other cells. The ability of samples to infect laboratory cells means that the virus can spread disease.

It has not yet been investigated what causes such large differences. Perhaps it is influenced by biological factors such as the person’s age and behavior. The person who spread massive amounts of the virus in the study coughed more than other infected.

The rate at which the virus is spreading is increasing. What can we do about it?

Scientists have been suggesting for some time that new variants of the virus causing COVID-19 are spreading more and more easily. SARS-CoV-2 could create more variants that will carry even more virus. According to researchers, governments should be pressured to invest in improving indoor air quality by improving ventilation systems.

Especially since people who contracted COVID-19 after vaccination, or even after a booster dose, still shed the virus in the air. In addition, our vaccine-induced protection tends to be less effective.

The Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology study indicated that in the case of approx. 20 percent. In humans, vaccines are less effective against Omicron. This is due to differences in the human immune system, which is a genetically regulated issue.

However, this does not mean that vaccination is pointless in the fight against Omicron. About 80 percent. from us it will produce good protection, and timely intake of booster doses is also of great importance.