By now most people will be aware of the main symptoms of coronavirus.
According to the NHS, they are a new, continuous cough, a fever and loss of smell and taste.
But as is common with viruses, Covid-19 has started to mutate – and much is still to learn about the mutations.
The Kent variant, which was responsible for a sharp rise in cases before Christmas, is believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain.
And emerging evidence has suggested it may be more deadly.
A new study conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found that specific symptoms are more common for the new strain. And they are slightly different to those the NHS says to look out for.
The research found that the four most common symptoms to look out for were cough, fatigue, sore throat and muscle pain.
These symptoms were found to be more commonplace in those who test positive for the Kent strain of coronavirus.
The ONS made the discovery based on positive tests from a random sample of 6,000 people – 3,500 of which had the new variant, and 2,500 who had the old variant.
They tested the symptoms reported by people testing positive for the new variant, compared to those with the old variant.
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Analysis showed that 35% of those with the new variant had a cough, 32% had fatigue, 25% had muscle aches and 21.8% had a sore throat.
These statistics were contrasted to the symptoms seen in the older variant.
In the group with those who had the old variant 28% had a cough, 29% had fatigue, 21% had muscle aches and 19% had a sore throat.
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The study also found that 16% of those with the new variant lost their sense of taste, and 15% lost sense of smell.
It was more common for those with the old variant to loose these senses – with 18% losing both.
There was no difference in terms of levels of headaches, shortness of breath or diarrhoea and vomiting in both groups.
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