Chest pain, deafness, shivering among top symptoms that could be Omicron BF.7
1 min read 17 Oct 2022, 07:43 PM ISTThere's still a lot to be learned, but here's what we know so far about the symptoms of BF.7 Omicron subvariant
PremiumThe list of symptoms associated with the highly transmissible BF.7 Omicron subvariant is long, spanning everything from chest pain and smell disorders to difficulty in hearing. The BF.7 sub-variant is now making its way to the US, UK, Australia, Belgium, and other parts and posing fresh threats after emerging from a region of Mongolia in China.
Reports claim that the BF.7 Omicron subvariant is behind the recent surge in the Covid-19 cases in China. However, experts have advised precaution and Covid appropriate behaviour ahead of the upcoming festive season.
Speaking to Livemint about the new Omicron subvariant, Dr Sanjay Dhall, Director of Internal Medicine at Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, said, "Omicron BF.7 was previously the subject of a warning from the World Health Organization (WHO), which said that it was expected to replace the existing dominant variant."
Further, elaborating on the topic, Dhall said that the BF.7 variant has higher rates of infection. "As we all know Omicron and its variants are very infamous for their capacity to escape the immune system of human beings. Thankfully, symptoms of Omicron and its variants are not very severe and usually cause mild symptoms, but in patients who have other illnesses like heart disease, kidney disease or liver disease and patients of old age, they can have severe symptoms also," he said.
There's still a lot to be learned, but here's what we know so far about the symptoms of BF.7 Omicron subvariant.
What are the most common Omicron BF.7 symptoms?
So far, the symptoms of the BF.7 subvariant, which are reported globally includes:
- Continuous coughing
- Difficulty in hearing
- Chest pain
- Shaking or quivering
- Changes in sense of smell
Why is it concerning?
With every new variant and subvariants, Covid-19 cases shoot up and the vulnerable continue to be at risk.
"So, whenever a new variant of Covid comes, the chances of spreading Covid increases and that too when the festival season is approaching and everyone will again start violating social distance norms and travel without masks," the doctor said.
"So it is the right time for us to again increase all the precautions that are wearing masks, social distancing, not going to crowded places, avoiding unnecessary going to markets etc, so this virus doesn't again sweep our country with the Covid illness," he added.
