Scientists issue dire warning that a mild dose of Omicron can lead to ‘medium-term organ damage’

Scientists have issued a grim warning that a mild course of Omicron can lead to “organ complications.” Scientists from the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), in Germany published their recent study in the European Heart Journal, that even those who are asymptomatic with a Covid infection can leave traces.

This is an important find by the researchers as Omicron is causing hospitals across the UK to announce “critical incidents” due to a surge in cases as the country recorded more than 218,000 cases on Tuesday.

Researchers have said that even those who have a mild dose of Omicron, this can lead to organ damage.

The scientists studied 443 people aged between 45 and 74 and were examined for SARS-CoV-2, but only those who had mild symptoms.

Those who took part in the research were infected with the virus and they either reported no mild or at most moderate symptoms at the time.

However scientists that discovered that the results revealed that the subjects “showed signs of medium-term organ damage, compared to non-infected people.”

In a statement, the researchers said, “In the lung function test, a lung volume reduced by around three percent and a slightly increased airway resistance were documented in the participants.

“The heart examinations showed an average decrease in pumping power of one to two percent and a 41% increase in a marker protein in the blood, which provides information about the stress on the heart.”

They also found signs of leg vein thrombosis two to three times more often, along with a decrease in kidney function by around 2%.

Raphael Twerenbold, scientific study centre director, said, “This knowledge is extremely important, especially with regard to the current Omicron variant that mostly seems to be associated with milder symptoms.”

Stefan Blankenberg, medical director of the Heart and Vascular Centre of the UKE, added, “The results enable us to identify possible organic complications at an early stage and to initiate appropriate therapeutic measures.”

This past week more than 1m people tested positive for Covid and were told to self-isolate and hospitalisations have risen.

There are currently more than 14,000 people in hospital with the virus, but this is still far lower than 39,254 which was seen in January 2021 during the peak.

There has been calls for the government to bring restrictions “without delay” as “tens of thousands” of NHS staff are off sick and the NHS is “in a state of crisis.”

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) penned a letter to the Health Secretary Sajid Javid warning the NHS cannot “afford” the level of staff absences and they have called for a more “cautious approach” to introduce restrictions.”

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said on Tuesday morning, the staffing situation in hospitals is “almost impossible.”