Top US body identifies new signs of COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the top medical body in the United States, has added some new signs of COVID-19. The CDC tracks diseases globally and has added the new signs on its website.

The CDC says people with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported, “ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus”.

The new symptoms include chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache and new loss of taste or smell. These symptoms are not among the ones listed on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website.

On the WHO webpage, the symptoms of COVID-19 are mentioned as fever, dry cough, tiredness, aches and pains, nasal congestion, sore throat and diarrhoea.

The CDC also says people must consult doctors for any other symptoms that are severe.

The novel coronavirus which sparked off the pandemic worldwide is still being studied by scientists to find out its features. Because it has never been identified before, scientists have to work carefully while studying the virus.

The WHO says some people become infected but have very mild symptoms. “Most people recover from the disease without needing hospital treatment. Around 1 out of every five people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing,” says the WHO.

Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart and lung problems, diabetes or cancer are at higher risk of developing serious illness, according to the WHO.

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