Omicron is likely to have inherited genetic material from the common cold virus in humans, according to preliminary research. This variant may be more contagious but also less virulent.
While sequencing the Omicron variant, researchers from Nference, a biomedical analytics company in the United States, discovered a gene segment that also appears in viruses that can cause the common cold, the Washington Post reported on December 4.
In one study, the team of scientists from Nference suggested that this mutation may have occurred in a host simultaneously infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) and HCoV-229E (a coronavirus that can cause the common cold).
Authorities in many countries and territories still believe that vaccination is the best measure against the Omicron variant. (Photo: Reuters).
The gene segment common with HCoV-229E has not been observed in other variants of SARS-CoV-2, the Nference research team noted. This study has not yet been peer-reviewed, meaning it has not been evaluated by experts in the field.
According to Venky Soudararajan, a biomedical engineer and co-author of the study, the similarity “is remarkable” between Omicron and HCoV-229E, which may have made Omicron “more familiar to the human body” and likely allows it to evade the immune system more effectively.
“By inheriting this mutation, Omicron has essentially learned from the methods of seasonal coronaviruses. This explains why Omicron survives and spreads more effectively in humans,” Soudararajan said.
As the virus evolves to become more transmissible, it typically “loses” some of the characteristics that cause severe disease symptoms, Soudararajan noted.
However, Soudararajan also emphasized that more data and analysis are needed regarding Omicron before the world can make specific assessments. He believes that global vaccine inequality could facilitate further mutations of SARS-CoV-2.
To date, the world still lacks extensive information about Omicron, but health experts are concerned that the large number of mutations in this variant could allow it to spread faster than Delta.
So far, Omicron has been detected in over 40 countries and territories, including places that quickly restricted travel from Southern Africa—the region that first raised alarms about this variant on November 24.
