Covid warning symptoms for each of the new strains that have been detected worldwide
20.08.2023 - 14:59
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Three new strains of Covid have been identified, two of which are in the UK, and health experts are warning that case numbers are increasing again. It was revealed yesterday by the UK Health Secretary Agency (UKHSA) that the number of people in the UK with the virus was 10.8 per 100,000, in the week running up to August 14.
One of the new strains, Eris, is thought to be responsible for around one in seven UK cases of coronavirus. And the BA.2.86 mutation, also known as Pirola, first appeared in the UK last week, sparking huge concern.
And a new subvariant of Omicron - which is yet to be officially named - has been referred to as BA.6 or Pi - with scientists describing it as "the real deal", the Mirror reports.
Health experts are advising people to stay home if they think they have the virus, and to consider wearing face masks while out and about. Here are all three of the variants in detail, and the symptoms that each one causes.
One in seven cases across the country are now being attributed to the new Eris variant. Some of the symptoms to look out for are very similar to that of Omicron - the key ones being a sore throat, a runny nose, a blocked nose, sneezing, a cough without phlegm, a headache, a cough with phlegm, a hoarse voice, muscle aches and pains and an altered sense of smell.
Loss of smell, fever, and breathlessness aren't the main symptoms anymore, and instead there are three new ones to look out for - diarrhoea, rashes and eye irritation, New Scientist reports. If Eris is resistant to the current Covid vaccine, the public could face having to get more jabs, a health expert warned.
Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter's medical school, told The Mirror: "It's too early to say