Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : August 29, 2022 11:47 AM IST
BA.5 Omicron: Two New Symptoms of COVID-19 Revealed
All the viruses in the environment have one characteristic in common - they mutate. SARS-CoV-2 is no different, the virus, found in 2019 has mutated several times giving birth to new variants and sub-variants. One of the most dangerous mutations that the virus went through was delta, the dominant strain which led to the ferocious second wave of COVID-19 in India. However, there was another variant which overpowered delta and became one of the most concerning strains of COVID-19 - Omicron, the variant of coronavirus which is carrying over 42 worrisome mutations in its spike protein, which makes it capable of infecting fully immunized individuals as well. Omicron has two more sub-lineages BA.4 and BA.5 which are the result of further mutations in the variant.
As the new COVID variant, Omicron is spreading at a fast pace across the countries, health experts have cautioned that it can cause a whole array of signs and symptoms, many of them different or less common than seen in previous variants. It has also been observed that Omicron symptoms are less severe. The experts have stated that symptoms associated with the BA.5 Omicron variant are slightly different, compared to even the original, initial Omicron. Let's check them out!
While sore throat and headache remain the most dominant symptoms of Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19, experts have cautioned that the recent cases of the infection have shown two signs - blocked nose and cough without phlegm.
Apart from the two recently found dominant symptoms of COVID-19 variant Omicron, a patient attacked by this strain may also experience symptoms like:
Some of the other uncommon, but still valid symptoms associated with the Omicron variant include - loss of smell and taste, chest pain and acute breathing issues. Therefore, if you notice any of these symptoms, make sure to get yourself tested for COVID-19 immediately.
