Omicron +ve had sore throat, body ache, but didn’t lose smell

Omicron +ve had sore throat, body ache, but didn’t lose smell

Most Treated With Basic Pain, Fever Medicines

Sumitra.DebRoy@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 17.12.2021

Slightly itchy throat, fatigue, body ache and mild fever were some of the main symptoms experienced by the patients treated at the Seven-Hills Hospital for the Omicron variant. The Andheri hospital, dedicated to cases of the new variant, has handled 14 patients till now. Thirteen have been discharged.

Of the 14 cases, eight were asymptomatic. “Among those with symptoms, most complained of sore throat, tiredness and body ache,” said one of the treating doctors, adding there was no disease progression in any. The HRCT scans of all the patients remained practically unchanged, meaning there was no lung involvement. Most could be treated with basic fever and pain medication such as paracetamol, while asymptomatic patients were given multivitamins.

In Maharashtra, 32 Omicron cases have been reported. Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, said 50% didn’t have any symptom. The rest had mild fever on Day 1, runny nose, and fever with cough. Interestingly, anosmia or loss of smell was not seen in any of the Omicron patients, said Awate. Of the 32 infected, 25 (78%) were vaccinated. The two unvaccinated didn’t see any major symptoms either.

14 new Omicron cases take India tally to 87

India reported 14 fresh Omicron cases on Thursday, taking the tally of patients contracting the highly infections variant in the country to 87. While Karnataka reported five new cases, Delhi and Telangana recorded four each and Gujarat one.

The tally in Karnataka rose to eight with five new cases. While three of them have international travel history, the other two returned from Delhi, leading to concerns of community spread of the variant in India. Delhi’s Omicron count touched 10 with four new cases. However, five of them have been discharged after recovering from the infection. TNN