Assessment of clinical characteristics and viral load in individuals infected by Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2
Sávio Luiz Pereira Nunes,
Chirles Araújo de França,
Gabriela Dias Rocha,
Samily Aquino de Sá Oliveira,
Mariana Ramos Freitas,
Eliane Oliveira da Silva,
Katia Sampaio Coutinho,
Aline Silva Jerônimo,
Gustavo Barbosa de Lima,
Raul Emídio de Lima,
Matheus Filgueira Bezerra,
Filipe Zimmer Dezordi,
Marcelo Henrique Santos Paiva,
Gabriel da Luz Wallau,
Carlos Dornels Freire de Souza,
Anderson da Costa Armstrong,
Rodrigo Feliciano do Carmo
Affiliations
Sávio Luiz Pereira Nunes
Postgraduate Program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Chirles Araújo de França
Multi-User Research Laboratory (LAMUPE), Dr. Washington Antônio de Barros Hospital – EBSERH/UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Gabriela Dias Rocha
Postgraduate Program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Multi-User Research Laboratory (LAMUPE), Dr. Washington Antônio de Barros Hospital – EBSERH/UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Samily Aquino de Sá Oliveira
Multi-User Research Laboratory (LAMUPE), Dr. Washington Antônio de Barros Hospital – EBSERH/UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Mariana Ramos Freitas
Multi-User Research Laboratory (LAMUPE), Dr. Washington Antônio de Barros Hospital – EBSERH/UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Eliane Oliveira da Silva
VIII Regional Health Management, State Health Secretariat of Pernambuco, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Katia Sampaio Coutinho
VIII Regional Health Management, State Health Secretariat of Pernambuco, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Aline Silva Jerônimo
VIII Regional Health Management, State Health Secretariat of Pernambuco, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Gustavo Barbosa de Lima
Technology Platforms Center (NPT), Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Raul Emídio de Lima
Technology Platforms Center (NPT), Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Matheus Filgueira Bezerra
Departament of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Filipe Zimmer Dezordi
Departament of Entomology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM)- FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Bioinformatics Center (NBI), Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Marcelo Henrique Santos Paiva
Departament of Entomology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM)- FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Life Sciences Center, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Caruaru, Pernambuco, Brazil
Gabriel da Luz Wallau
Departament of Entomology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM)- FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Bioinformatics Center (NBI), Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), FIOCRUZ-Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Department of Arbovirology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, National Reference Center for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Hamburg, Germany
Carlos Dornels Freire de Souza
Collegiate of Medicine, Federal University of the São Francisco Valley – UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Anderson da Costa Armstrong
Collegiate of Medicine, Federal University of the São Francisco Valley – UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil
Rodrigo Feliciano do Carmo
Postgraduate Program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Collegiate of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of the São Francisco Valley – UNIVASF, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil; Corresponding author. Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Av. José de Sá Maniçoba, s/n, Centro, Petrolina, PE, Brazil.
In late 2021, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 called Omicron emerged, replacing Delta worldwide. Although it has been associated with a lower risk of hospitalization and severe forms of COVID-19, there is little evidence of its relationship with specific symptoms and viral load. The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between Delta and Omicron variants of concern, viral load, and the occurrence of symptoms in individuals with COVID-19. Nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected and sequenced from patients with COVID-19 from the Northeast Region of Brazil between August 2021 and March 2022. The results showed a gradual replacement of the Delta variant by the Omicron variant during the study period. A total of 316 samples (157 Delta and 159 Omicron) were included. There was a higher prevalence of symptoms in Delta-infected individuals, such as coryza, olfactory and taste disturbances, headache, and myalgia. There was no association between viral load and the variants analyzed. The results reported here contribute to the understanding of the symptoms associated with the Delta and Omicron variants in individuals affected by COVID-19.
