An analysis of records by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that most people who had the Covid-19 virus seemed to share at least one of three symptoms: fever, cough, or shortness of breath.
The analysis, published Thursday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, was a small survey that covered 164 people with lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19. The patients all had symptoms, and all were sick between January 14 and April 4.
The CDC sent a survey to patients identified by local health officials diagnosed with Covid-19. The patients were asked to report a wide variety of symptoms, and they were also asked to report on any additional symptoms that were not widely recognized.
Almost all (96%) of the patients who reported had fever, cough, or shortness of breath, and about 45% of them experienced all three symptoms.
Patients reported that the most common symptom was a cough, with 84% of surveyed patients reporting a cough. Fever was the next most common symptom, with 80% of patients saying they had a fever. The third most common symptom reported was shortness of breath, but this symptom was more commonly associated with people who were hospitalized.
Patients also reported that they had a wide variety of other symptoms, including muscle pain, chills, fatigue, and headaches. At least one stomach issue, most commonly diarrhea, was each reported by half of the patients. Some patients also reported GI symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.
A higher percentage of people who did not have to go to the hospital lost their sense of taste or smell.
These results are not generalizable since testing was restricted to certain patients during this period and hospitalized patients are likely overrepresented in the sample of people surveyed. Still, the data does give us a better sense when we might need to be tested or even isolated to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
