The NHS – for all its incredible work – recognizes only three main symptoms of coronavirus, but the evidence points to much more. Mass testing is generally prohibited when infected people do not qualify for Covid testing. Many people may be walking around supermarkets unaware that they carry the famous SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid’s disease. Imperial College London collected swab tests and questionnaires as part of its REACT study.
Samples and papers were collected between June 2020 and January 2021, with some alarming results.
It was revealed that four symptoms that were not officially recognized (by the NHS) were strongly related to a Covid infection.
They are: chills, loss of appetite, headache and muscle aches – alongside classic symptoms.
The classic symptoms, recognized by the NHS, are:
- A new continuous cough
- A high temperature
- A 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 aged 55 and over also experienced more loss of appetite than younger adults.
Those over 17 but under 54 – who tested positive for coronavirus – were more likely to report muscle pain.
However, about 60 percent of infected people reported no symptoms in the week before the 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 continued: “So [infected individuals] it will not be self-isolating, because its symptoms do not correspond to those used in current public health guidelines.
“I hope that our findings about the most informative symptoms will mean that the testing program can take advantage of the most up-to-date evidence, helping to identify more infected people.”
Using the data, the researchers noted that the Kent Covid variant was less likely to cause loss of smell.
Instead, the Kent variant was strongly associated with a new persistent cough.
Dr. Joshua Elliott, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: “As the epidemic progresses and new variants emerge, it is essential that we continue to monitor how the virus affects people in order for testing programs to meet new needs.
“We hope that our data will help inform testing guidance and system development that can help to better identify people who should take the COVID-19 test based on their symptoms.
The pre-printed REACT article has not yet been submitted to peer review.