A Covid patient being wheeled into Medical College on Wednesday
KOLKATA: Covid symptoms have been milder and undergone subtle changes during the second wave along with a much higher transmission rate, often making it difficult to identify the virus, according to doctors in Kolkata.
While cough, cold and fever had been the most common symptoms during the first wave, weakness, body ache and mild diarrhoea have been more frequent this time.
The reason could be that more younger people with stronger immunity have been affected resulting in non-lung symptoms, they said.
“While the virus is more transmissible this time with a lower mortality rate, there has been a paradigm shift in the mean age of the affected population — from 59-60 last time to less than 45 now. Being more mobile, the younger population has been affected but due to their stronger immunity, the virus is often not being able to penetrate the lungs. So the non-lung portions are being affected, resulting in symptoms like tiredness, fatigue, lethargy and body ache. Cold and fever have been absent in 10%-15% of cases, which makes it a challenge to diagnose. Non-specific symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting and even stomach ache have been widespread this time,” said Raja Dhar, director of pulmonology at CMRI Hospital.