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A new Covid variant spreading around the U.S. may come with an incredibly unfortunate symptom now commonly referred to as “razor blade throat.”
NB.1.8.1, which is also known as or “Nimbus,” is now nearly the most prevalent omicron lineage tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As the name implies, infection may lead to an incredibly painful sore throat, according to experts.
Other symptoms, though, are more typical of a Covid infection, including fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, and the loss of taste or smell.
“A ‘razor blade throat’ is a very descriptive term describing severe sore throat pain — as if their throat is covered with razor blades — (like) with various viral infections,” Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of the department of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York, told TODAY.com.
“While not specific to Covid-19, this expression has been used to describe sore throat symptoms in some patients with the most recent Covid-19 variant,” he said.
But although the new omicron variant may result in a painful infection, experts say that it does not appear to be more severe than others.
“Every time you get a new strain, it always is a little bit more transmissible than what came before it,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UCSF infectious disease specialist, told SFGATE.
“Just like a pop song is more catchy when it rises to the top of the charts. And this particular one, Nimbus, is not just proportionally higher right now in California, the speed at which it’s rising in the charts is also high … but it’s not more severe.”
Just how virulent it is remains a topic of discussion.
“What sets NB.1.8.1 apart is how quickly it spreads,” explains Dr. Magdalena Sobieszczyk, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, said in a statement.
“It has a genetic advantage: mutations that make it easy for it to bind to receptors on human cells. The mutations could allow NB.1.8.1 to spread faster and, therefore, infect more people.”
The World Health Organization has designated Nimbus as a “variant under monitoring,” and considers the public health risk low globally.
Current vaccines are expected to remain effective. But the longevity of the availability of Covid vaccines in the U.S. remains murky.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said last month that shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. He has also removed members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with people who have been skeptical of Covid vaccines and mandates.
