New symptoms of Omicron .. Night sweats and rashes

New data indicate two distinct symptoms of the mutated Omicron strain of corona, one of which is for children, so what are they?

And what does the consultant at the Royal Hospital in London, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mushatt, say about the symptoms?

Night sweats and omicron

We start with the British newspaper Express, which quoted one of the doctors as saying that strange symptoms appeared in the "night".

In a briefing on Monday by the South African Department of Health, GP Onpin Pillai listed symptoms reported by Omicron patients, and said the patients had "night sweats".

Night sweats happen when you sweat so much that your night clothes and bedding get wet, even though the place where you sleep is cool.

Dr. Pillai also said he sees patients with a dry cough, fever and a lot of body aches.

 Skin rash in children with Omicron

We turn to children, as the British newspaper The Sun reported a warning to doctors of “unusual” symptoms in children with Omicron Covid.

Dr David Lloyd, a doctor in London, reported that young children developed a rash during Omicron's infection.

He said he's seen about 15 percent of youngsters with confirmed Omicron cases develop a rash.

He added that they also experienced fatigue, headaches and loss of appetite, which seemed to fit in with the most common variable symptoms reported so far in adults.

This comes after an expert warned that Covid cases may go undetected, because people are looking for the wrong symptoms.

The three main symptoms of COVID-19 include a new persistent cough, high temperature, and loss of taste and smell.

But doctors say the signs of the omicron variant that is circulating in the UK may be difficult to detect, because the main symptoms are different from those currently identified by the British National Health Service (NHS).

The three symptoms outlined by the NHS were first presented when the epidemic hit in March 2020, and the list has remained the same despite the emergence of new strains.

Medics working in South Africa said the main symptoms were fatigue, body aches and headaches.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and president of the South African Medical Association, said patients did not report a loss of taste and smell.

What does a consultant at the Royal Hospital in London say about Omicron's symptoms?

For his part, the consultant at the Royal Hospital in London, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mushatt, said - in exclusive statements to Al-Jazeera Net - that the symptoms of the Omicron strain so far are the same as the symptoms of the original Corona strain and may be milder, and there are no reports that it causes a more deadly disease or that it causes admission to hospitals and care. More focused, and although this information is preliminary, it is reassuring.

The doctor said that scientists expect that this strain will spread faster than other strains.

In Britain, the number of Omicron infections doubles every 3 days, and this is an important indication that this strain is spreading rapidly.

For his part, the official in charge of emergencies at the World Health Organization, Michael Ryan, said in an interview with Agence France-Presse, that "the general behavior that we observe so far does not show any increase in risk (for the Omicron strain). In fact, some places in Africa Southern states report milder symptoms", compared to those caused by previous mutated versions of the virus.

Vaccines are the best protection

On protection, Ryan said that "there is no reason" to doubt the effectiveness of the currently available vaccines against Corona in protecting against acute infections with the new mutated version of the virus, Omicron.

"We have highly effective vaccines that have proven effective against all variants so far, in terms of disease severity and hospitalization, and there is no reason to think that this will not be the case" with Omicron, stressing at the same time the need for further research in this regard, Ryan said.

However, the senior official in the United Nations called for caution in dealing with these data because the new mutant was only detected on November 24 by the South African authorities, and its presence was subsequently recorded in dozens of countries.

"We are still in the beginning. We have to be very careful in how we analyze" these data, he said, stressing on more than one occasion during the interview that the available data and studies are still preliminary.

 The Irish epidemiologist, who fought on the ground with deadly diseases such as Ebola and Marburg virus, and is now on the first front line against “Covid-19” since its detection at the end of 2019, said that the first information collected in South Africa “indicates that the protection provided by vaccines Looks solid so far.

But he acknowledged that it may turn out later that vaccines are less effective against Omicron, which is characterized by a large number of mutations in the spike protein, which are the spiny protrusions that allow the virus to attach to cells before invading them for the purpose of reproduction.

But he considered it "totally unlikely" that this mutant could completely escape the protection provided by vaccines.

He reiterated that "the preliminary data issued by South Africa do not show a catastrophic decline in effectiveness, but on the contrary at the present time."

He stressed that "the best weapon available to us at the moment is receiving the vaccine," which his colleagues have been repeating for a year with the start of vaccination campaigns.

There are early indications that the new mutant may more easily infect vaccinated or previously infected people with Covid-19.

 Injury again

And this doctor pointed out that "there are data indicating that the infection again is more frequent with Omicron compared to the previous mutant," but he was quick to add that the vaccines are designed in a way to protect against acute infections and not necessarily from minor ones.

He added, "It is not very important for us to know whether a recurrence of the infection is possible with Omikron, but it is especially important for us to know whether the new infections are stronger or less severe."

He stressed the need to respect preventive measures, especially the wearing of a mask, ventilation of closed halls and physical distancing, stressing, "The nature of the virus has not changed, and the rules themselves remain in place."