Six ‘types’ of COVID-19 identified – Use these to find how severe your infection might be, and if you may need help breathing

Scientists from King’s College in London say they have found there are six distinct types of the disease, characterised by a specific cluster of symptoms. Their study was based on data from a COVID-19 symptom-tracking app.

All people reporting symptoms using the app experienced headache and loss of smell, with varying combinations of additional symptoms at various times. Some of these, such as confusion, abdominal pain and shortness of breath, are not widely known as COVID-19 symptoms, yet are hallmarks of the most severe forms of the disease.

The six cluster are as follows:

1) ‘Flu-like’ with no fever: Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever

2) ‘Flu-like’ with fever: Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite

3) Gastrointestinal: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough

4) Severe level one, fatigue: Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue

5) Severe level two, confusion: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain

6) Severe level three, abdominal and respiratory: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, abdominal pain

The study was released online at the end of last week, but has not been peer-reviewed by independent scientists.