Fears have grown as new outbreaks of the highly transmissible Omicron variant have led to a surge in cases in countries around the world.
There have been reports of Omicron relatives XBB and
Earlier this month, the UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) advised Brits to stay at home if they felt unwell or wear face masks when going out to curb the risk of a new wave of Covid-19.
UKHSA then warned that Covid-19 and flu are currently “circulating at high levels”, which is likely to increase further in the coming weeks.
The XBB.1.5 variant of Covid-19 is believed to be behind at least 4% of infections currently sequenced. In October 2022, the WHO (World Health Organization) announced that there is preliminary evidence that XBB carries a higher risk of reinfection compared to other circulating Omicron subvariants.
Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and founder of the ZOE Health Study app, warned that the new Omicron outbreak could be the new variant “to watch out for in 2023.”
As Covid-19 continues to spread at a high rate in the UK, an analysis was carried out by the ZOE project, seen by The Independent shows that in the 30 days ending January 3, 2023, a sore throat was the most commonly reported symptom by participants.
The ZOE application allows infected people to report their symptoms through an application while supposedly suffering from the virus in order to gain a better understanding of Covid-19 and its evolution. The submitted data is then analyzed by King’s College London, which tracks infections across the UK and determines who is most at risk.
These are the ten most common symptoms reported in the last month:
- Sore throat: 57.3%
- Nasal congestion: 57.8%
- Nasal secretion: 55.5%
- Sneezing: 52%
- Cough without phlegm: 50.7%
- Headache: 49.6%
- Cough with mucus: 47.3%
- Hoarse voice: 41.4%
- Muscle pain: 24.7%
- Odor change: 22.32%
