As cases of COVID-19 continue to spread, infecting more than 13 million people worldwide, experts are still studying exactly how the virus manifests. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weekly report of mortality and morbidity, the organization shared a deeper look at COVID-19 patients in 16 cities, from January 19 to June 3.
Of the 164 patients involved in the analysis, all symptomatic, 96 percent reported experiencing one of the three characteristic symptoms of COVID-19: fever, shortness of breath, or chest pain. But those were far from the only reported symptoms. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, explains.
“You have a whole range of symptoms. Cough, shortness of breath and fever were the first to be recognized and targeted, “says Schaffner. “But once we were doing a more extensive test, we realized that COVID not only had chest symptoms and fever … we got a clearer picture.”
The authors are quick to note that the study is a limited sample, one that excludes asymptomatic individuals and therefore cannot be used to draw conclusions about “the spectrum of disease severity.” But to help unpack what the report revealed, and what we generally know about the symptoms so far, here is a breakdown of what you need to know.
Fever, shortness of breath, and chest pain are prominent symptoms.
One of the main conclusions of the study is that, at least in this cohort, the vast majority of respondents experienced fever, shortness of breath or chest pain, “typical symptoms” (as the CDC labels it), and also some of the earliest reported. These symptoms are more likely to occur simultaneously in more severe cases, with 68 percent of hospitalized patients experiencing all three.
Age can play a role in the prevalence of these typical symptoms.
While young people are certainly not immune to the virus, the CDC study found evidence that increasing age may play a role in symptoms, particularly when it comes to the three typical symptoms. In the group studied, reports of fever, shortness of breath, and chest pain occurring simultaneously increased with age. 38% of people ages 18 to 44 experienced all three symptoms, compared to 48% of people ages 45 to 64, and 56% of people ages 65 and older.
Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are also a factor.
Although at the beginning of the crisis, experts believed that COVID-19 was purely a respiratory disease, studies conducted in recent months have shown that it can also affect the intestine. Half of the 164 patients in the CDC report experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, most often diarrhea and, less frequently, nausea. Gastrointestinal symptoms have also been commonly reported in children, which were not studied in this report.
Fatigue, headache, and chills were also frequent.
In addition to the more typical symptoms of the virus, the CDC report showed that many people with symptomatic COVID-19 experienced widespread symptoms that can sometimes be mistaken for other diseases. 63% reported experiencing myalgia (muscle pain), another 63% had chills, 62% felt fatigued, and 59% experienced headaches.
Schaffner says that, in some cases, this impact on other organs may show that the virus has entered the bloodstream, which can be more serious. “One of the things we have learned is that it can affect the vascular system, the blood vessels and influence the coagulation mechanism,” says Schaffner. “So we can anticipate that now and do something about it in advance.”
Loss of taste and smell may be associated with milder cases.
Many reports have revealed an unusual and quite unique manifestation of the coronavirus, which is a temporary loss of taste and smell, and in some cases, both. In the report, those who experienced these symptoms were less likely to be hospitalized. 51% of non-hospitalized patients reported loss of smell, compared to only 22% of hospitalized patients. Similarly, 21 percent of outpatients lost their sense of taste, while only seven percent of patients in the hospital experienced the same.
Extended tests have helped experts learn more about symptoms.
Some have theorized that symptoms reported later in the pandemic, such as gastrointestinal symptoms, indicate a mutation, but Schaffner points to an important distinction in this study: that they coincided with an expanded test. “I think one of the most important sentences in this report is that ‘symptoms reported during a longer trial eligibility period could reflect a more complete COVID-19 symptom profile,” says Schaffner. “What they mean is that during this period, when this data was accumulated, the tests focused largely on people who had the typical symptoms. … As we opened later, and the authors acknowledge testing a wider range of patients. You’ll have more symptoms. ” The finding illustrates the importance of testing in general, not only for security but to fully understand the virus.
Asymptomatic cases can still occur.
It is unclear at this time exactly how many people show symptoms of the virus and how many have a late onset of symptoms (called “presymptomatic”) or show no symptoms at all (“asymptomatic”). Schaffner says it’s important that the CDC study not be interpreted to mean that, without cough or fever, for example, you don’t have the virus. “This is an analysis of people who did have symptoms and what the symptoms were,” says Schaffner. “But you can be totally symptom-free and still have the virus.”
For him coronavirus latest news and updates, follow along https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and immunocompromised people continue to be the most exposed. For questions, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s and From the WHO resource guides.
Read more from Yahoo Life
Do you want to receive daily news about lifestyle and wellness in your inbox? sign up here for the Yahoo Life newsletter.
