How to know if they are symptoms of Omicron or just a cold

What does the early data tell us about Omicron?

Omicron is currently the predominant subspecies in the country and is expanding rapidly, with cases increasing by about 23% in the last two weeks or so alone. Data from CDC..Variants Abnormally many mutations, Some of them may be making it possible Avoid immune protection..And early data show that it’s about 2-3 times more contagious From the delta variant. As a result, many, Including vaccinated people, The virus test may be positive.

Scientists are still studying because variants are relatively new discoveries Disease severity When The symptoms it causes — and if they differ from other strains. This week we received some hopeful news. A team of three scientists studying Omicron’s courses in South Africa, Scotland, and the United Kingdom have published preliminary results showing the infection. In many cases, I got a mild illness Compared to earlier delta variants. The findings suggested that infected people were less likely to be hospitalized, but there were some caveats.

How are the symptoms of Omicron similar to Delta and other variants?

Preliminary reports show that people infected with the mutant generally show the same symptoms as those infected with either. Delta or original coronavirus..

Data Scientist Health company ZOE Using the latest data from London, where the prevalence of Omicron is higher than in other parts of the UK, symptom data was analyzed and compared to data recorded in early October when Delta was dominant. .. Analysis showed no clear difference between the two, and only about half experienced “the three typical symptoms of fever, cough, or loss of smell or taste.” The top five symptoms recorded in both periods were runny nose, headache, malaise, sneezing, and sore throat. They tended to be “almost calm” and “cold”.

Here in the United States, possible symptoms of coronavirus described in the CDC include fever or cold, cough, shortness of breath or shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body pain, headache, loss of new taste or odor, throat. Pain, congestion, or stuffy nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. These are also symptoms that are often associated with both the delta and the original coronavirus. According to the CDC..

How are Omicron’s symptoms different from Delta and other variants?

As the lead scientist of the ZOE COVID research app, cold-like symptoms became more common when Delta became the predominant variant and the number of cases increased. Attention last week.. This seems to be the case with Omicron, and some of the first major symptoms seen early in the pandemic, namely loss of taste and smell, are less typical.

Analysis published by Norwegian researchers It was found that after the outbreak of small omicrons among “fully vaccinated” people, only 23% of patients reported loss of taste and only 12% reported loss of smell. On the other hand, runny nose, stuffy nose, malaise, cough and sore throat were the most common symptoms.

Early evidence also suggests that Omicron is unlikely to spread deep into lung tissue, despite rapid replication in the upper respiratory tract, helping to explain why the infection appears milder. There is a possibility.Studies conducted by researchers at the University of Hong Kong show that mutant replication in deeper lung tissue 1/10 of the original stock Of the virus.

Also note that according to the data collected by ZOE, the symptoms you may experience may vary. Depending on the vaccination situation..

What about common colds and flu?

Both influenza and cold are infectious respiratory diseases, and although they are caused by various viruses, they share similar symptoms. According to the CDC.. In general, the symptoms of the flu are more severe and start more suddenly, but colds are milder than usual and usually do not cause serious health problems.

According to health protection agencies, flu symptoms may include “fever or fever / chills.” On the other hand, people who have a cold tend to have a runny nose or a stuffy nose.

Compared to influenza, COVID-19 can cause more serious illness in some people, according to the CDC. Also, people can take longer to experience symptoms and they can be transmitted for a longer period of time.

The CDC also “tells and diagnoses what the illness is,” because some of the symptoms of influenza, coronavirus, and other respiratory illnesses are so similar that people can be infected, especially. He emphasized the need for testing to “confirm” both influenza and COVID-19 at the same time.

Still looking for an answer and where should it be?

In short, for those who want to determine what they are ill for travel or planning purposes, public health professionals recommend that you be tested for the coronavirus in advance.

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Shannon Larson can be reached at [email protected].. Follow her on Twitter @ shannonlarson98..