- Common symptoms: fever, cough and shortness of breath.
- Mild symptoms can appear to be a common cold (especially with the Delta variant).
- Some people report taste and smell is affected.
- Other symptoms occur as the virus moves around the body and internal organs.
In most cases (80%) there are mild symptoms (which typically recover in two weeks) or even no symptoms. Mild symptoms can appear to be a common cold, and some people report taste and smell is affected. A small study in China suggests those with mild symptoms have fewer virus particles in their bodies. June 2021: The most common symptoms of the Delta variant are headache, sore throat and runny nose.
It can be anything from 2 days to 14 days between exposure and showing symptoms but is typically 5 to 6 days.
It can be anything from 2 days to 14 days between exposure and showing symptoms but is typically 5 to 6 days.
Common symptoms: fever, cough and shortness of breath and loss of sense of taste and smell. These led to an initial diagnosis of a respiratory infection. Once it was identified that the virus attaches to the ACE-2 enzyme (part of our immune system and present in many body tissues and organs) it made more sense that other symptoms are also reported. In many cases people are discharged from hospital but continue to have intermittent bouts of symptoms. There is no clear link between severity of initial infection and likelihood of post infections problems.
These other symptoms lead scientists to theorize that (a) there may be sub-types of the virus - possibly linked to the body organ affected and (b) identifying these may help in predicting which cases may become serious, and potentially the most effective treatment. The following symptoms have been reported with the virus, and may occur after discharge from hospital.
- Pain: chest pain, severe muscle pain, numbness.
- Neurological problems: tingling finger tips, brain fog, dizziness, seizures, hallucinations.
- Skin problems: small blisters on mouth or on torso, a reddish-purple rash, and chilblain-like lesions on toes
- Gastrointestinal problems: bloating, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite (possibly linked to loss of taste and smell).
- Cardiovascular problems: after discharge from hospital some people later develop deep vein thrombosis, blood clots on the lung. Some relatively young and healthy people are having heart attacks or strokes with unusual features.
- Extreme fatigue: may be linked to vascular symptoms such as blood clots - micro-clots in lungs could reduce oxygen supply to body, with the possibility of pneumonia infection.
Another problem that has emerged is that for some people the symptoms improve, and then return.
How you get immunity - a simple explanation (Zania Stamataki in The Guardian, 10 April 2020)
How you get immunity - a simple explanation (Zania Stamataki in The Guardian, 10 April 2020)
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