Omicron BA.5 Insights: New Model Reveals Primary Cause for High Infection Rates

A medical research team at the University of Hong Kong has succeeded in inducing differentiation in long-term expanded and cultured respiratory organs in the human respiratory tract, leading to the mature nasal, airway, and alveolar organoids. The University of Hong Kong

Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) used human respiratory organ models to investigate the infection and replication capacity of the COVID-19 Omicron BA.5 and other variants in the human respiratory tract. The results of this research reveals the mechanism behind the high infectivity and transmission ability of the BA.5 variants.

The study has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.