Omicron symptoms are DIFFERENT to other strains – the signs you should never ignore

CORONAVIRUS cases in the UK could be "missed" as people are looking for the wrong symptoms, an expert has warned.

The three main symptoms of Covid-19 include a new persistent cough, a high temperature and a loss of taste and smell.

But medics say signs of the Omicron variant, which is spreading in the UK, could be difficult to detect - as the main symptoms are different from those currently outlined by the NHS.

The trio of symptoms laid out by the NHS were first introduced when the pandemic hit in March 2020 and the list has stayed the same despite new strains emerging.

Medics working in South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first detected, have now said the main symptoms are fatigue, body aches and a headache.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of the South African Medical Association, said patients have not been reporting a loss of taste and smell.

Other experts have also warned the symptoms will differ.

King's College London's Professor Tim Spector, who is also the lead on the ZOE Symptom Tracker App, has long called for additional symptoms to be added to the official NHS list.

Delta is still the dominant variant in the UK, but Omicron is spreading, with new estimates claiming cases could hit 90,000 by Christmas.

However efforts are still being made to fully understand the new variant, which has only been known about for two weeks.

Scientists think it could spread more easily and might be able to evade vaccines, but still need to carry out more tests.

Vaccines are thought to still offer good protection, with Brits also encouraged to get their booster jabs, told to wear masks in shops and transport and isolate after travel until a negative PCR tests.

Prof Spector said data from the ZOE symptom study app suggests about half of all cases are being "missed" because people are not presenting with "classic" Covid symptoms of fever, new and persistent cough and a loss or change of smell or taste.

"Omicron is probably more, much more similar to the mild variants we're seeing in people who have been vaccinated with Delta than anything else," he said.

"And so it is going to be producing cold-like symptoms that people won't recognise as Covid if they just believe the official Government advice."

Prof Spector said it's not yet clear whether or not vaccines will work against the Omicron strain, but it's assumed it could be more transmissible.

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He said: "So it means that perhaps twice as many people are going to pass it on from when someone gets it in a crowd."

It is also currently thought to be less deadly.

"That's going to be good news for the individual because we have less cases going to hospital, and partly this is due to our high vaccination rates," says Prof Spector.

"But it's also means that eventually you will get more deaths and problems, because nearly everyone is infected or re-infected.

"And so, this means that for the country as a whole, it could be worse news but better for the individual. So it's absolutely no reason for complacency."

If you think you have Covid-19, it's important you get a test and isolate - as this will prevent more people from catching it.

Experts globally are still trying to learn more about Omicron, how transmissible it is and how effective vaccines could be.

Some have said they are worried about the new strain, but others believe it will only present as a "mild disease".

Prof Francois Balloux, Professor of Computational Systems Biology and Director, UCL Genetics Institute, UCL, said: “If it were to be confirmed that Omicron causes on average less severe symptoms than Delta, its current frequency in the UK may be underestimated, as people infected with Omicron may be less likely to come forward to get tested."

At this stage, Omicron represents only a small fraction of all Covid-19 cases in the UK, with the Delta variant still causing the bulk of cases (99 per cent).

“This situation is likely to change in the near future with the number of Omicron cases doubling roughly every three to days [sic].

“If this rate of increase were maintained, Omicron would be expected to become the most widespread variant in the UK within a month or so.”

Prof Balloux added that “Omicron seems to be more transmissible primarily because it is more likely to (re-)infect people”. 

But it may also be because there's a shorter number of days between exposure to the virus, and symptoms showing.