Is it flu, cold or COVID-19? Amid the increase in cases of COVID-19 in Venezuela and other countries around the world, generated by omicron and its sublineages, It is common to confuse COVID-19 with the flu or a cold. But why this? Is it possible to differentiate them by symptoms?
At a global level, omicron continues to be the predominant variant, representing 84% of the sequences carried out between June 10 and July 10, explains the World Health Organization (WHO) in its epidemiological update of July 13.
This coronavirus also accumulated a lot of changes. Up to now, it has been described 80 sublineages and sister lineages of omicron, and some stand out more than others, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The omicron variant spreads more easily. It is more contagious but less aggressive compared to other variants. For this reason, it is more difficult to distinguish it from the flu or colds, which are also caused by viruses and can be transmitted between people.
Symptoms in people infected with omicron may be similar to those of earlier variants, butn general, omicron infection is usually milder.
The A person’s vaccination status, the existence of other medical conditions, their age, genetic factors, and their history of infection can also affect the severity of symptoms. Thus, although the majority overcome the symptoms, there are still people who can develop serious illness. and even die.
Since June, Venezuela lives a increase in cases of COVID-19 driven by omicron and its main sublineages, causing less severe symptoms compared to previous variants, explains the virologist Flor H. Pujolhead of the Molecular Virology Laboratory of the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), to Cocuyo effect.
“The clinical presentation with the omicron sublineages, being milder, is more reminiscent of an infection of the upper respiratory tract and not so much of the lungs. People tend to underestimate this infectionthey are not isolated and continue to transmit”, says the head of the laboratory in charge of genomic surveillance in the country.
Specialists such as the infectologist Manuel Figuerapresident of the Venezuelan Society of Infectious Diseases (SVI), coincide with what Pujol highlighted.
“Many of the paintings that we are seeing today look like a common cold, a sore throat, high respiratory symptoms. People underestimate that it might be COVID-19 and when one insists and they take the test, it turns out that they have COVID-19 ″, she expressed through a video shared on her social networks on July 13.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explain that it is not possible to know if a person has COVID-19 or the flu (influenza) just from symptoms.
“It is not possible to tell the difference between influenza and COVID-19 just by paying attention to the symptoms because some of the symptoms are the same. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out a screening test to establish what disease it is and confirm the diagnosis”, highlight the CDC. It is also important to seek medical advice.
The role of sublineages
According to Flor Pujol, Venezuela follows the trends of Latin America, where the BA.1 sublineage (causing the increase in infections at the beginning of 2022 in the region) is no longer being detected, but the BA.2 sublineages. BA.4 and BA.5.
BA.5 is already predominant in the United States and, according to PAHO, already has a presence in 22 countries and territories in the Americas. It is expected to be predominant in all regions in the coming weeks.
Pujol explains that the danger of BA.5 does not equal that shown by the delta variant, which dominated for much of 2021, but it does may be different from BA.1 and BA.2. The expert points out that, due to its phenotypic characteristics, BA.5 might have more pulmonary touch than other omicron sublineages.
“Many people are going through it in a more benign way because they were infected before or because they have their doses of vaccines, especially for the latter. The problem is that some more susceptible peoplewith more risk factors or who are not vaccinated, they can become infected and have a more serious presentation, “he indicates.
Jairo Mendez Rico, PAHO adviser for emerging viral diseases, expressed on July 13 that he still there is no evidence to think that BA.5 has an additional impact to that observed before in omicron.
Until July 6th, The OMS highlighted that BA.5 had an advantage over BA.2 in terms of transmissibilitybut there is still no evidence to suggest a difference in the severity of the disease.
BA.5, sin embargo, has an important ability to evade the immune response, so it can infect people who had already had COVID-19, even a few weeks ago, or who had already been vaccinated.
According to Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, BA.5 takes immune escape “to the next level,” which also explains the improved transmissibility.
In an interview with CNN, Topol noted that in Europe and other parts of the world, BA.5 has caused an increase in hospitalizations, although it does not appear to be accompanied by increased admissions to intensive care or deaths. However, depending on the increase in the number of cases, deaths may also increase.
Despite the increase and reinfections, according to Dr. Jairo Méndez Rico, having a complete vaccination schedule still decreases the possibility of having serious or fatal disease.
In the face of any symptom, the call is to isolate oneself and seek specialized medical guidance, with up-to-date health professionals, in addition to not self-medicating, since the therapeutic approach must be individualized.
“In this epidemiological context, if you have respiratory symptoms, be it congestion, cough or discomfort, it is highly likely that it is COVID-19. And if it is not COVID-19, it is a cold, flu, influenza or another process that can be contagious. It is better to isolate yourself to prevent what this person has from transmitting it to others,” said Figuera in a previous interview with Cocuyo effect.
