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. 2023 Aug 2;13(1):12511.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38869-1.

Symptom profiles of community cases infected by influenza, RSV, rhinovirus, seasonal coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

Cyril Geismar  1   2 , Vincent Nguyen  3 , Ellen Fragaszy  4   5 , Madhumita Shrotri  3 , Annalan M D Navaratnam  3 , Sarah Beale  3   4 , Thomas E Byrne  3 , Wing Lam Erica Fong  3 , Alexei Yavlinsky  3 , Jana Kovar  4 , Susan Hoskins  3 , Isobel Braithwaite  3 , Robert W Aldridge  3 , Andrew C Hayward  4
Affiliations

Symptom profiles of community cases infected by influenza, RSV, rhinovirus, seasonal coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

Cyril Geismar et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Respiratory viruses that were suppressed through previous lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic have recently started to co-circulate with SARS-CoV-2. Understanding the clinical characteristics and symptomatology of different respiratory viral infections can help address the challenges related to the identification of cases and the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 variants' evolutionary patterns. Flu Watch (2006-2011) and Virus Watch (2020-2022) are household community cohort studies monitoring the epidemiology of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, seasonal coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2, in England and Wales. This study describes and compares the proportion of symptoms reported during illnesses infected by common respiratory viruses. The SARS-CoV-2 symptom profile increasingly resembles that of other respiratory viruses as new strains emerge. Increased cough, sore throat, runny nose, and sneezing are associated with the emergence of the Omicron strains. As SARS-CoV-2 becomes endemic, monitoring the evolution of its symptomatology associated with new variants will be critical for clinical surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

ACH serves on the UK New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group. The other authors declare no potential conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Symptom profile of common respiratory viruses: frequency of symptoms reported during illness by virus type (points represent the mean estimates, shaded areas represent the 95% confidence intervals (CI)). SARS-CoV-2 includes the wild-type, Alpha, Delta, Omicron BA1, Omicron BA2 and Omicron BA5 variants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportions of illnesses meeting the WHO case definitions by virus type. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Symptom profile by SARS-CoV-2 VOC: frequency of symptoms reported during illness by VOC (points represent the mean estimates, shaded areas represent the 95% confidence intervals).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Odds ratios from multivariate logistic regressions with SARS-CoV-2 variant as primary exposure and Omicron BA5 as the variant of reference. Confounders including sex, age, clinal vulnerability and natural or vaccine induced immunity were controlled for.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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