Researchers have indicated that symptoms of fatigue, headache, sore throat and diarrhoea should be added with the three main approved symptoms of Covid: cough, cold and loss of smell/taste by the government now, reports BBC.
This could lead to people who have not got affected by the virus also having to go through the test.
According to King’s College London and the Zoe Symptom study app, there could be a rise of 40% more cases post testing of new symptoms of novel Coronavirus.
The Zoe Symptom team was the first batch of people who speculated that “loss of smell/taste” could be an important symptom of Covid19.
The team reported this particular symptom by verifying with the people’s symptoms on their app, who were tested positive. This led to the entry of “loss of smell/taste” in the official Covid19 list of symptoms.
“An expert scientific group keeps the symptoms of Covid-19 under review. The main symptoms have been carefully selected to capture those most likely to have Covid-19, while not capturing a great number of people who do not.”Spokesperson of Department of Health and Social Care, King’s College London
The researchers studied the data of 120,000 people who have accounts in Zoe’s application, of which 1,200 were tested positive. During the analysis of this data, the team reported seven symptoms, which would require a person to have proper PCR test, if they have even one of them.
The three main symptoms are continuous cough, fever and loss of smell/taste and now added sore throat, diarrhoea, headache and fatigue.
“A "pragmatic" approach was needed, with those living in areas with high levels of the virus treating those wider symptoms with more suspicion than those in low-Covid areas”, said GP Dr Margaret McCartney told BBC Radio 4's Inside Health programme.
The Zoe team believes the all the seven symptom might also be caused by some other diseases as well but it could also be the indication of early-stage Covid.
Their concern is that the system might be affected, for example, if people with minor symptoms like just a little headache end up going to the covid testing labs.
According to Professor Tim Spector, one of the heads of the project, they knew since the beginning that just focusing on the three main symptoms would lead to many cases of Covid being overlooked.
He urged people to get tested if they are feeling unwell suddenly as this might mean they have Covid. He further asks people to be aware of these Covid symptoms as variants are increasing in the UK and other parts of the world.
“Now in the UK we have plenty of tests available, thanks to so much effort by labs all over the country, and every positive person detected could save lives.”Dr Claire Steves, lead scientist on the Zoe app
The Zoe team has a firm belief in their strategy of testing a number of people who might not necessarily have covid. They have seen a rise of 46 negative tests for every positive, to 95 negatives for every case identified if the seven symptoms were taken into consideration.
DHSC spokesperson says that anyone who is feeling any of the three main symptoms: fever, cough and loss of smell/taste, should get tested as soon as possible and follow home isolation as well.
Cough, sore throat, fatigue, and muscle pain are the symptoms that could be found common in people who were tested positive for the UK Coronavirus variant, suggest study by Office for National Statistics.
Those with no symptoms, or symptoms outside of those three, may be able to access rapid testing through their local council or their workplace.
(Written with inputs from BBC News)
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