Filenews 18 January 2022
The most detailed record of the symptomatology that characterizes the Omicron mutation of the coronavirus was made by researchers from the UK.
The scientific team that is preparing the ZOE COVID Study as early as 2020 is preparing a detailed record of data related to Covid-19 infection, with data on 480 million people who have been recorded through a special app.
Experts have therefore succeeded in recording the symptoms that characterize Covid-19 depending on the strain of the virus that prevails each time.
The Alpha mutation was characterized by three main symptoms, fever, cough and loss of smell and at least 20 others. Delta was accompanied by shortness of breath, fever and loss of smell, while patients also reported symptoms that resembled those of the common cold, such as runny nose, sore throat and wheezing, along with headache and cough, especially in people who had time to be vaccinated.
The Omicron mutation is accompanied by symptoms that also resemble a common cold especially among those vaccinated and fewer systemic symptoms such as nausea, muscle aches, diarrhea and skin rashes.
The ZOE COVID Study's research team is now releasing a list of the 20 most common symptoms of Omicron based on reports made by survey respondents in December 2021, which the mutation swept through the UK and compared them to data from last October dominated by Delta. To confirm their conclusions, the researchers also analyzed data from a small group of volunteers who were confirmed positive cases of Omicron.
The analysis did not reveal any significant differences in the profile of symptoms between Delta and Omicron, with the five most common symptoms in both mutations being runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing and sore throat. But when they looked at the overall frequency of symptoms, variations emerged.
For example, anosmia was in the top 10 of Delta symptoms, while it had fallen to 17th place in terms of Omicron. Also less than a third (29%) of patients report fever compared to previous epidemic waves. Still, only 50% of Covid-19 patients report any of the classic symptoms (fever, cough or loss of smell).
The 20 symptoms of Omicron by frequency
- runny nose (73.01%)
- Headache (67.51%)
- Fatigue (63.5%)
- Sneezing (60.24%)
- Sore throat (59.66%)
- Persistent cough (43.56%)
- Hoarse voice (35.75%)
- Other (35.7%)
- Chills (30.41%)
- Fever (29.47%)
- Dizziness (27.89)
- Confusion (23.68%)
- Altered sense of smell (23.17%)
- Irritated eyes (22.86%)
- Unusual muscle aches (22.65%)
- Loss of appetite (20.89%)
- Loss of taste (19.33%)
- Angina pectoris (18.58%)
- Swollen glands (18.51%)
- Depressed mood (16.02%)
