US announces new coronavirus symptoms as pandemic continues

Originally, it was reported that the main symptoms of COVID-19 in patients were a high fever, a dry persistent cough and shortness of breath.

But the CDC has tripled their list of recognised symptoms as more physicians report other complications.

This past weekend, the CDC added chills, shaking, muscle pain and a loss of smell and taste as officially recognised symptoms of coronavirus.

Healthcare workers started calling attention to many of the new symptoms, such as the loss of taste and smell, last month.

A joint study between the UK and Italy, published this week, also found that 64 percent of COVID-19 patients reported an “altered sense of smell and taste.”

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for COVID-19 responses, explained the discovery of newer symptoms.

She told reporters during media call on March 23: “A loss of smell or a loss of taste is something that we’re looking into.

“We are reaching out to a number of countries and looking at the cases that have already been reported to see if this is a common feature.

“We don’t have the answer to that yet.”

In March, the American Academy of Otolaryngology called for the CDC to add a loss of smell to its list of potential signs of coronavirus.

Dr James Denneny, executive vice president and CEO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology says that, when businesses begin to reopen, anyone with this symptom should be tested or go into self-quarantine.

He told WGME: “In a significant percentage of people, it’s a symptom that can be used when others aren’t there.

“If you have a sudden change in taste or smell, it is shown (…) that this may be the initial marker, so you would not want to be spreading it.”

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A WHO report about Chinese coronavirus cases also revealed previously undisclosed symptoms.

About 40 percent of 56,000 patients said they experienced fatigue.

Nearly 14 percent said they had headaches, with around 12 percent saying they had chills.

As more patients told doctors they were having similar symptoms, the physicians urged the CDC to include them on the list.

It comes as President Donald Trump has begun suggesting newer treatments such as “injecting” patients with disinfectant.

He said: “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute.

“One minute!

“And is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning?

“Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that.

“So, that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me.”

Medical officials and experts have slammed the suggestion as dangerous and unproven.

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