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While these broader symptoms were noted in addition to the known or so-called classic symptoms of loss of smell and taste, fever, and a new persistent cough, about 60% of those infected reported no symptoms. in the week leading up to the REACT (Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission) study conducted by Imperial College London revealed on Wednesday.
“These new findings suggest that many people with COVID-19 will not be tested – and therefore will not be self-isolating – because their symptoms do not match those used in current public health guidelines to help identify the infected people, “said Professor Paul Elliott, REACT program director at Imperial Oil.
“We understand that there is a need to define clear test criteria, and that the inclusion of many symptoms that are commonly found in other illnesses such as the seasonal flu could lead to the risk of unnecessary self-isolation. ‘Hope our more informative symptom results mean that the testing program can take advantage of the most recent evidence, helping to identify more infected people, ”he said.
Swab tests and questionnaires collected between June 2020 and January 2021 as part of the study showed that among these other symptoms, chills, loss of appetite, headaches and muscle pain were together the most strongly linked to the infection, alongside the four so-called classic symptoms. .
Having any of these other symptoms or the classic symptoms, either alone or in combination, was associated with coronavirus infection and the more symptoms people showed, the more likely they were to test positive.
The study also found that there was variation in symptoms with age. While chills have been linked to positive tests at all ages, headaches have been reported in young people aged 5 to 17, loss of appetite in those 18 to 54 and 55 and over and muscle pain in people aged 18 to 54. Infected children aged 5 to 17 were also less likely to report fever, persistent cough, and loss of appetite compared to adults.
The research also examined whether the emergence of the UK’s new variant coronavirus, first identified in Kent, was linked to a different symptom profile. While symptoms were broadly similar, in January of this year compared to November-December 2020, loss or change in smell was less predictive of having COVID-19, while the proportion of people testing positive with another persistent cough seemed to have increased.
“As the epidemic progresses and new variants emerge, it is essential that we continue to monitor how the virus is affecting people so that testing programs meet changing needs,” said Dr Joshua Elliott , from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London.
“We hope our data will help inform testing guidance and the development of systems that could help better identify people who should be tested for COVID-19 based on their symptoms,” he said.
People in England are currently encouraged to take a COVID-19 test if they have at least one of the four classic symptoms: loss of taste, loss of smell, fever, new persistent cough. This is called the “pillar 2 test”.
Based on the results of the new REACT study, researchers estimate that current Pillar 2 testing would detect around half of all symptomatic infections if all eligible people were tested. But if the additional symptoms were included, it could be improved to three quarters of symptomatic infections.
The results, published as a pre-printed report before being peer reviewed, are part of the ongoing REACT-1 analysis flow, led by Imperial College London and carried out in partnership with Ipsos MORI. The real-time community transmission assessment program is funded by the government’s Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
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