The NHS – for all its wonderful work – recognizes only three main symptoms of coronavirus, but evidence suggests much more. Mass testing is usually prohibited when infected people are not eligible for a Covid test. Many people in supermarkets may be unaware that they are carrying the infamous SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid disease. Imperial College London has collected water tests and questionnaires as part of their REACT study.
The samples and papers were collected between June 2020 and January 2021, with some worrying results.
It has been revealed that four unofficially recognized symptoms (by the NHS) are strongly related to a Covid infection.
These were: cold fever, loss of appetite, headache and muscle aches – along with the classic symptoms.
The classic symptoms, which are recognized by the NHS, are:
- A new, persistent cough
- A high temperature
- Loss or change in your sense of smell or taste
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They were also more likely to report fever, persistent cough, and loss of appetite compared to adults.
People 55 years or older experience more appetite than younger adults.
Those older than 17 but younger than 54 – who tested positive for coronavirus – were more likely to report muscle pain.
However, about 60 percent of the infected people reported no symptoms in the week leading up to their Covid test.
Professor Paul Elliott commented on the REACT study: “These new findings suggest that many people with COVID-19 will not be tested.”
The director of the REACT program continues: ‘Therefore [infected individuals] will not be self-isolating because the symptoms do not match those used in current public health counseling.
“I hope our findings on the most informative symptoms mean that the testing program can use the latest evidence, which helps identify more infected people.”
Using the data, the researchers note that the Kent Covid variant is less likely to lose someone’s sense of smell.
Instead, the Kent variant is strongly associated with a new persistent cough.
Dr Joshua Elliott, of the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: ‘As the epidemic progresses and new variants emerge, we need to constantly monitor how the virus affects people, so that testing programs meet changing needs. completed.
“We hope that our data will help test guidelines and the development of systems to better identify people who need to take a COVID-19 test based on their symptoms.”
The REACT preprint paper has yet to be submitted for peer review.