This is the most accurate symptom to know if you had Covid; These are the Sars-CoV-2 strains in the country and they detect an aggressive mutation of the virus that circulates in Chile: three things we learned about the coronavirus this week

Despite the absence of accurate tests to find out if you ever had coronavirus, there are a handful of symptoms what with some reliability, they could tell you if you ever had Covid.

But according to a study, conducted by scientists at St. James’s Hospital and the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute in Dublin, Ireland, There is a more certain symptom to know if you have ever had a coronavirus: fatigue.

According to this research, more than half of the patients have shown some degree of fatigue after two and a half months of having tested positive.

According to the study, Of the 128 participants, (49.5 over 15 years and 54% of them women), more than half reported persistent fatigue (52.3%) at 10 weeks after initial Covid-19 symptoms, by which time they were expected to have recovered.

The research concluded that among people who reported having fatigue, there was no association between the severity of Covid-19, that is, if the people were hospitalized, or if they required supplemental oxygen or intensive care.

In addition, the study added, there was also no relationship between gender (if male or female) and those with a pre-existing diagnosis of depression or anxiety.

According to Evelyn Benavides, neurologist at Clínica Dávila and Clínica Vespucio, interviewed by What happens, this symptom has nothing to do with the level of severity that patients had at the time of infection Since fatigue has been detected in patients who had mild Covid and spent it at home without major problems and in others who were hospitalized.

Another study from the University of Indiana (USA) between all 50 main lasting symptoms of coronavirus, concluded that Fatigue is number one, and was reported by 1,567 of the 1,567 patients surveyed. Some patients have described it as so disabling, they don’t even have the strength to get out of bed.

Specialists say it is not clear why it occurs, but the treatment, in addition to moderation, is to follow a balanced diet, rich in protein, with a supplement of vitamins and trace elements if necessary.

In the largest study ever done in the country on the genetic characteristics of Sars-CoV-2 in Chile, the Institute of Public Health (ISP), published this Tuesday an investigation that shows how it has been geographically distributed the genetic variants and lineages of Sars-CoV-2 throughout the country.

The conclusions of this distribution were obtained from 141 viral samples taken during the period March to April 2020 and they represent the base of all the 449,903 cases that were registered to date.

The complete analysis of the genome of these 141 viral samples from different regions of Chile revealed a predominance of the G variant, from Europe in much of the territory between March 2 and April 5, 2020.

According to the study, variant G is very widespread in the territory, mainly in the central and southern regions, such as Valparaíso, Metropolitana, O’Higgins, Ñuble, Bio Bio, Araucanía, Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes.

The S variants (originating in Asia), on the other hand, are present in the central region of Maule and also in the northern region of Antofagasta. The least represented variants, V and O, were found in the Metropolitan and O’Higgins regions (see map).

The G variant reaches up to 85.1% of the total samples (120 isolates), followed by S with 10% (14 isolates), V with 3.5% (5 isolates).

Scientists have pointed out the importance of doing these so-called phylogenetic tracking, because through these mutations you can track the virus, metaphorically, as if through a person’s genome, you can know who your brother is, who your mother and who your father is.

The bad: Scientists in the United States published Wednesday a study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of the coronavirus, an investigation that revealed a mutation that changes the structure of the spike protein on the surface of the virus (the one that allows it to enter the body) that may explain “the enormous spread” of that strain.

That mutation seems to have originated for the first time in China. Scientists suspect it may give the virus a biological advantage in the way it spreads. It is called D614G, and according to the study, this new strain of the virus represented 99.9% of cases during the second wave in the area of ​​Houston, Texas, United States.

It is the same mutation that is also circulating in Chile. This was determined by the Institute of Public Health (ISP), in a study that shows how the genetic variants and lineages of Sars-CoV-2 have been geographically distributed throughout the country.

The good: according to James Musser pathologist and expert in genomic medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital and author of the study in an interview with The Washington Post explained that these mutations have not made the virus more lethal or have changed the clinical results.

He explained that all viruses accumulate genetic mutations and most are insignificant. What this study did determine is that the virus, as it has moved through the population, has become more transmissible, and that this may have implications for fighting it.