Scientists identify four new symptoms of Covid-19 to look out for

Scientists have identified four new symptoms of coronavirus to look out for.

After conducting a study of more than one million people across England, they were able to identify additional symptoms of the virus.

These four are on top of the three main symptoms which are officially recognised by the NHS, which are loss of smell and taste, a new persistent cough, and a fever.

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Following the study, scientists suggest that chills, a loss of appetite, headaches, and muscle aches could also be signs of Covid-19, meaning many people who potentially had the virus won’t have got tested.

Researchers used swab tests and questionnaires to conduct the study, which were collected between June 2020 and January 2021.

Imperial College London, who spearheaded the React study, discovered there was a variation in symptoms which came with age.

Chills were recorded across all ages, while headaches were mainly seen in kids and teenagers aged five to 17, and muscle aches were mostly spotted in those aged between 18 and 54.

Appetite loss was recorded more in 18-54 year olds as well as people aged 55 and over, and five to 17 year olds who had the virus were less likely to have a fever, persistent cough or appetite loss.

Roughly 60% of participants in the study who tested positive for coronavirus didn’t report any symptoms during the week leading to the test.

The director of the React programme at Imperial, Professor Paul Elliott, said: “These new findings suggest many people with Covid-19 won’t be getting tested – and therefore won’t be self-isolating – because their symptoms don’t match those used in current public health guidance to help identify infected people.

“We understand that there is a need for clear testing criteria, and that including lots of symptoms which are commonly found in other illnesses like seasonal flu could risk people self-isolating unnecessarily.

“I hope that our findings on the most informative symptoms mean that the testing programme can take advantage of the most up-to-date evidence, helping to identify more infected people.”

While people are currently only advised to get a test if they have one or more of the three classic symptoms, researchers estimate that if people with the additional four symptoms were also tested they’d pick up three-quarters of symptomatic infections, rather than just half.