Patients and doctors say the latest COVID-19 variant spreading in the U.S. in some cases causes a sore throat so painful it has earned the nickname “razor blade throat.”
The ‘Nimbus’ variant, which is officially known as NB.1.8.1., is a descendant of the Omicron is currently being monitored by the World Health Organization.
“Your throat is so dry, so cracked, it’s so painful, it’s even hard to drink sometimes,” Muhammad Azam, a physician with Sharp Community Medical Group in California, told ABC 10.
The variant was first identified in January. It has since been found around the globe, including in Canada and at least 13 states in the U.S.
Apart from “razor blade throat,” it causes symptoms similar to other Omicron variants of the virus, like cough, fever, fatigue, muscle aches, congestion, headache, nausea, vomiting and loss of smell or taste, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Sore throat has been a part of the spectrum of COVID from the beginning,” said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
“It is something that we know occurs just like it occurs with many other respiratory viruses.”
Most cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. are still caused by the LP.8.1. strain, but the NB.1.8.1 variant is becoming increasingly prominent. According to CDC data, 38 percent of COVID cases stem from the LP.8.1 strain while 37 percent of COVID cases now stem from the ‘Nimbus’ variant.
The agency notes on its website that, given the low number of virus sequences being reported, its precision is low.
NB.1.8.1 does not appear to be any more of a global threat than other variants, according to the WHO.
The organization also said that the existing COVID-19 vaccines provide adequate protection against severe illness and hospitalization caused by the new variant.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News that most COVID patients are reporting sore throat.
“I think it’s certainly amongst the spectrum of symptoms that you can get, and we know that sore throat is reported by about 70% of patients now with COVID, so it’s not unusual, and like with everything in medicine, there’s always a spectrum,” he said.