While efforts continue to unravel more of the mystery of the Corona virus, which continues to spread exhausting humanity for more than two years, an experiment, the first of its kind, revealed that one point is sufficient to contract Covid 19, and this came as a result of deliberately giving healthy volunteers a dose of the virus.
The interesting study found that infected people usually develop symptoms very quickly, within two days of encountering the virus, and are most contagious five days after infection.
The study was also conducted using a strain of the virus before the “Omicron, Delta and Alpha” variants appeared, according to what was reported by the British newspaper, The Guardian, yesterday, Wednesday.
Lead researcher Professor Christopher Chiu, from Imperial College London, said: “Our study reveals some very important clinical insights, particularly about the short incubation period of the virus and the very high risk of infection through the nose.”
The study found that infection first appears in the throat, and that the infectious virus peaks five days after infection, at which point the nose has a much higher viral load than the throat, noting that a nose and throat swab increases the likelihood of detecting infection during the first days.
The study also revealed that among the 18 people who were infected, they had a similar viral effect regardless of whether they developed symptoms, confirming the role of asymptomatic transmission.
Also, she explained, some people who did not become infected had very low levels of detectable viruses in their noses and throats, indicating that they may have experienced a short-lived infection observed through immune activity in the lining of the nose and throat.
The team says the trial paves the way for future studies that could help accelerate the development of the next generation of vaccines and antiviral drugs.
For his part, Professor Sir Jonathan Van Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer in England, said: “Scientifically, these studies provide a real advantage about the timing of exposure to the virus,” noting that this important study provided more key data about Covid 19 and how it spreads, which is not It is invaluable to learn more about this new virus, so we can improve our response.”
More results are expected to be published in the coming days, giving a unique window into the first stage of the immune response, after confronting the virus.