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The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants can affect their detection via RT-qPCR. The Omicron variant has a greater affinity for the upper respiratory system and causes clinical conditions similar to bronchitis, as opposed to the pneumonitis-like conditions caused by other SARS-CoV-2 variants. This characteristic increases the viscosity of clinical samples collected for diagnosis. Coinciding with the arrival of the Omicron variant, we observed a failure in control gene expression in our laboratory. In this report, we have optimized a rapid nucleic acid extraction step to restore gene expression and detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We reevaluated 3000 samples, compared variant types occurring in different time periods, and confirmed that the presence of the Omicron variant was responsible for changes observed in the characteristics of these clinical samples. For samples with large amounts of mucus, such as those containing the Omicron variant, a modification to the nucleic acid extraction step was sufficient to restore the quality of RT-qPCR results.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v15081690 | DOI Listing |
Pediatr Infect Dis J
September 2025
From the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Background: Obesity was a risk factor for severe COVID-19 in children during early outbreaks of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and the Delta variant. However, the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 severity during the Omicron wave remains unclear.
Methods: This multicenter, observational study included polymerase chain r eaction-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infected children and adolescents from Australia, Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States hospitalized between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022.
JCI Insight
September 2025
Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, Cambridge, United States of America.
Background: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has evolved subvariants since the emergence of the omicron variant in 2021. Whether these changes impact viral shedding and transmissibility is not known.
Methods: POSITIVES is a prospective longitudinal cohort of individuals with mild SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Phys Chem Chem Phys
September 2025
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, P. R. China.
The COVID-19 pandemic remains a global health crisis, with successive SARS-CoV-2 variants exhibiting enhanced transmissibility and immune evasion. Notably, the Omicron variant harbors extensive mutations in the spike protein's receptor-binding domain (RBD), altering viral fitness. While temperature is a critical environmental factor modulating viral stability and transmission, its molecular-level effects on variant-specific RBD-human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) interactions remain underexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Pathog
September 2025
State Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
Coronavirus, a large family of positive-sense RNA viruses, are responsible for both mild and severe respiratory illnesses, ranging from the common cold to life-threatening conditions. Despite significant advances in vaccine and antiviral development, the high mutability of human coronaviruses (HCoVs), such as SARS-CoV-2, presents a major challenge in treating these infections. Effective, broad-spectrum antiviral drugs are urgently needed to address both current and future HCoV outbreaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Public Health
August 2025
Epidemiology and Data Management Unit, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Division of Intramural Research, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Introduction: Immune-deficient/disordered people (IDP) elicit a less robust immune response to COVID-19 vaccination than the general US population. Despite millions of IDP at presumed elevated risk, few population-level studies of IDP have been conducted in the Omicron era to evaluate breakthrough infection-related outcomes.
Methods: We followed a prospective cohort of 219 IDP and 63 healthy volunteers (HV) in the USA from April 2021 (Alpha variant peak) to July 2023 (Omicron XBB variant peak).