Common cold may not be enough to identify COVID infection in India: Experts

Common cold as a sign of COVID-19 infection? Indian doctors say that common cold, sore throat, etc could be a sign of another sign as well.

By: Arushi Bidhuri | | Updated: February 5, 2021 1:02 pm

Common cold may not be enough to identify COVID infection in India: Experts

Common cold is a condition everyone has suffered from at some point in their lives. It is a debilitating condition, but not dangerous. But that changed ever since the unprecedented pandemic shook the world to its core. COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus, is an infectious disease that transmits quickly. Since the new strain of coronavirus is relatively new, the doctors and scientists are still learning about it every day. Common cold is also believed to be one of the common symptoms of COVID-19. In an open letter, Alex Sohal, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Queen Mary University of London, supported by 140 general practitioners from east London wrote to the Chief Medical Officer of the UK to include runny nose and common cold in COVID-19 test criteria. Also Read - COVID-19 vaccine at ₹250 too low to sustain, Companies ‘feel betrayed’: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Key Points From The Letter About Including Common Cold Part Of COVID-19 Test

The letter published in The British Medical Journal insisted that the World Health Organization (WHO) should include coryza and cold in the definition and test criteria of UK COVID-19. Sohal wrote, “Tell the public, especially those who have to go out to work and their employers, that even those with mild symptoms (not only cough, high temperature, and a loss of smell or taste) should not go out, prioritizing the first five days of self-isolation when they are most likely to be infectious.” Also Read - Gurugram apartment declared containment zone after 20 tested positive for COVID-19

In the letter, Sohal said that patients with symptoms like a runny, blocked nose, fatigue, headache, myalgia, hoarseness and sore throat turned out to be COVID-19 positive. She further elaborated, “These patients have frequently not even considered that they may have COVID-19 and have not self-isolated in the crucial days when they were most infectious.” Also Read - With 33 positive cases, 3 more COVID-19 clusters identified in Bengaluru

“The national public campaign focuses on cough, high temperature, and loss of smell or taste as symptoms to be aware of – only patients with these symptoms are able to access a COVID-19 test online through the National Health Service (NHS) test booking site. General practitioners have to advise patients to be dishonest to get a COVID-19 test,” she wrote.

Common Cold May Not Be Sign Of Coronavirus But Be Careful

However, Indian doctors opine that the scenario in India is a bit different from the UK, where the extremely infectious UK strain is causing an increased number of cases every day. They said that common cold, running nose and sore throat are very common in this current weather. Dr Shiba Kalyan Biswal, Consultant, Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Narayana Hospital, Gurugram told IANS that while the possibility of COVID-19 cannot be denied as per the symptoms, but common cold, sore throat, running nose, etc could be symptoms of a minor infection or some other major disease as well.

Experts opine that it may be different in India and these signs don’t particularly mean that the patient has contracted the coronavirus. However, they still need to watch out for these symptoms and practice precaution to avoid spread in case they are infected with COVID.

Published : February 5, 2021 9:20 am | Updated:February 5, 2021 1:02 pm

Read Disclaimer