'Swallowing razor blades': What to know about the painful symptom linked to latest COVID strain

A painful symptom that has been linked to the latest strain of COVID-19 is being called “razor blade throat.” The World Health Organization recently designated NB.1.8.1 as a variant under monitoring . The strain, nicknamed “Nimbus,” has reportedly been causing extremely painful sort throats in those who have been infected with it. Cases of the Nimbus variant have been rising. It has been detected in 22 countries as of May 18 and made up 10.7 per cent of the global COVID samples taken in late April, WHO said. That was considered a “significant rise in prevalence” since it only made up 2.5 per cent of global COVID samples four weeks prior. However, WHO deemed the overall risk of Nimbus to be low. “Despite a concurrent increase in cases and hospitalizations in some countries where NB.1.8.1 is widespread, current data do not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness than other variants in circulation,” according to WHO. Here’s what to know. What is “razor blade throat”? Like the name suggests, “razor blade throat” describes severe sore throat pain, as if the throat is “covered with razor blades,” chair of the department of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York Dr. Aaron Glatt told TODAY.com . “While not specific to COVID-19,” he said, “this expression has been used to describe sore throat symptoms in some patients with the most recent COVID-19 variant.” It has been described by some as “akin to swallowing shattered glass or razor blades,” news network NTD reported . However, infectious disease specialist at University of California San Francisco Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, told the San Francisco Chronicle that a sore throat from COVID is “not novel at all.” “There has been a range of intensity of sore throat with COVID symptoms all along, including very severe pain,” said Chin-Hong. Other symptoms of COVID include runny nose, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, fatigue or weakness, muscle or body aches, new loss of smell or taste, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Is the Nimbus strain different from other COVID variants? This particular strain “isn’t too different from the Omicron variant , but it does have some tweaks to its spike protein,” according to general practitioner from private healthcare centre Pall Mall Medical in the United Kingdom Dr. Chun Tang, The Independent reported . That means it could “spread a bit more easily or slip past some of our existing immunity.” “That said, early signs suggest it doesn’t seem to cause more serious illness, but of course, we’re still learning more about it,” said Tang. The earliest sample of Nimbus was taken in January, said WHO. How are Canadians being affected by the Nimbus strain? In Canada, the federal government has been keeping track of COVID variants detected nationwide. Nimbus was detected in Canada in March, but it only accounted for a very low percentage of COVID strains in the country, at just 0.2 per cent . By the end of May, Nimbus made up roughly 20 per cent of all identified COVID cases. Using earlier trends to estimate the current situation, the government is predicting how variants will spread or diminish. This method is called nowcasting. For the week of June 1, the nowcasted estimates of Nimbus in Canada are predicted to be around 42 per cent. The nowcasted estimates for the week of June 15 jump to 53 per cent, meaning it would make up more than half of the cases in Canada if the prediction is accurate. Other than Canada, Nimbus has been detected around the world, with cases reported in India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States, according to the World Health Network . It has also made its way to Australia and the United Kingdom .

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