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Fever and a dry, suffocating cough, worsening breathing that can lead to pneumonia. These are the main symptoms indicating the disease Covid-19. But the presence of the coronavirus is also pointed to by another factor that scientists and doctors have so far needlessly overlooked.
The coronavirus epidemic worldwide already counts more than 255 thousand infected, has claimed 10,495 lives, and 89,918 patients have recovered from the disease. As with other viral illnesses, it is necessary to notice symptoms that point to the disease in time and to begin treatment promptly.
And that also applies in the case of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, even though doctors do not yet have a targeted treatment for it, apart from common antivirals or experimental drugs.
Runny nose, a temperature above 38 degrees Celsius, cough, muscle or joint pain and shortness of breath. These are the most common symptoms of the new coronavirus. However, American scientists in the latest study reported a new symptom that had not previously been considered threatening.
The new symptom that should be taken seriously is abdominal pain and digestive problems.
Scientists reached this finding by analyzing data from 204 patients in Hubei province in China and found that nearly 49 percent of patients arrived at the hospital with digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain or vomiting.
In the examined sample of patients, scientists also uncovered another pattern. It was precisely the patients who complained of digestive difficulties who had worse clinical outcomes and a higher risk of mortality compared with patients without digestive symptoms.
Despite the new discovery, scientists say that the greatest attention still needs to be paid to the most typical symptoms, namely a dry, suffocating cough and high fevers. Covid-19 primarily attacks the lungs and the respiratory tract.
