Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is still a good deal of confusion surrounding the symptoms of the highly infectious virus that has killed over 820,000 people worldwide. Why? Researchers have identified a wide range of symptoms, including everything from a dry cough and fever to strange rashes and digestive problems. However, according to one infectious disease doctor, a cocktail of two symptoms might be a sure-fire way to know that you are battling the virus. Read on, and to keep yourself and others safe during this pandemic, don’t miss this essential list of the All the Sure Signs You’ve Already Had Coronavirus.
This Doctor Has Calculated the Percentages
Dr. Stephen Berger, double board certified in infectious disease and microbiology and the founder of GIDEON, the Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Network, explains to Eat This, Not That! Health that he and his team have been working with a “Computer Expert [Decision Analysis] System” designed to generate a list of diseases based on signs and symptoms. The list is ranked according to statistical probability.
While a small percentage of people experienced a single symptom—for example, just 5% experienced a fever alone. However, when he ran simulations based on a combination of symptoms, he found that those were more common. In other words, most people experienced more than one symptom.
For example, the combination of fever, cough, and severe illness suggests a probability of 32% for COVID-19.
While loss of sense of smell was not in their database, he points out that it has the highest diagnostic sensitivity for COVID-19. “Over 75% of patients with the disease experience loss of smell, often with loss of taste as well,” he says. “Some researchers put this figure as high as 98%” He also points out that those symptoms are very specific—occurring occasionally in other respiratory illnesses—such as the common cold.
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The Sure Sign Coronavirus is These Two Symptoms
Knowing this, he concludes that if you have a combination of two symptoms, it is overwhelmingly likely that you are COVID positive.
“Loss of smell and fever is almost 100% accurate in diagnosing COVID-19 in an adult,” he maintains.
The highest ranking “sign” for COVID-19 right now? “Death,” he reveals. “41% of persons dying of an Infectious Disease in the United States this week will have died of COVID-19.” The runners up? Blood poisoning and bacterial pneumonia, accounting for 16% each. As for yourself, avoid death at all costs: To get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don’t miss these 37 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch Coronavirus.