Government yet to decide whether to go for extensive Covid tests
Kamrul Hasan
Publish : 28 Dec 2021, 12:03 AMUpdate : 28 Dec 2021, 12:03 AM
This winter, with the new Omicron variant of the Covid-19 arises a new concern: should we take flu-like bad colds seriously?
Researchers, healthcare experts and physicians say catching a cold at this time may not be caused by minor allergies, which is very common in the winter.
Researchers from countries badly affected by the Omicron variant have observed that the symptoms that previously helped measure whether it was a cold, flu or Covid-19 are no longer effective indicators.
The classic Covid symptoms are a new and continuous cough, a fever or high temperature, and the loss of or change to smell or taste.
But the UK’s ZOE Covid study shows that, for some people, having Covid can feel "more like a bad cold" with symptoms like runny nose, headache, fatigue (either mild or severe), sneezing and sore throat.
The findings were published on its website on December 16.
While the UK has witnessed a surge in Covid cases in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US has already found that Omicron established itself as the dominating variant in the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Omicron variant has been detected in around 90 countries although most of the countries have identified imported cases.
Bangladesh also announced the presence of the variant in the country by identifying two imported cases on December 11. But since then, no new cases have been identified.
However, the number of patients rushing to hospitals with cold-related cases has risen sharply in recent days.
The health authorities could not provide any data over how many people have visited government facilities recently with a bad cold.
In Bangladesh, the authorities keep the record of cold-related cases from November 15 to March 15.
Contact with several hospitals has revealed that the number of outdoor patients with cold-related diseases has increased in recent days.
But doctors at the Covid units said that there were few patients with cold-like symptoms.
Assistant Professor of Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute Ashraful Haque, who is conducting research on Covid, opined that, alongside Covid patients, cold-like symptoms should be tested as well.
“The recent Covid variant has changed its character and patients develop flu-like symptoms. So the authorities should put emphasis on more Covid tests and increase facilities so that poor people learn more about it and get tested,” he added.
The academic, who is also in-charge of the vaccination centre of the institute, observed that people were more reluctant to take vaccines.
“They are not even registering to avail the service the government is providing for free. This situation needs to be changed in the interest of the safety of the people. It will help decrease the severity of the infection,” he added.
Confirming the rise of cold-related patients at the government-run hospitals, Dr Farid Hossain Miah, director (hospital) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said that they were not testing these patients for Covid right now.
“Although Omicron caused a surge in Covid cases in other parts of the world, the number of cases in the country remains low.
“However, we have enough testing kits. Once the disease control unit instructs us to examine these patients, we will do it at any moment,” he added.
Director (Disease Control) Dr Nazmul Islam could not be reached over the phone despite several attempts to contact him.
Should we consider a bad cold as a Covid symptom?
This winter, with the new Omicron variant of the Covid-19 arises a new concern: should we take flu-like bad colds seriously?
Researchers, healthcare experts and physicians say catching a cold at this time may not be caused by minor allergies, which is very common in the winter.
Researchers from countries badly affected by the Omicron variant have observed that the symptoms that previously helped measure whether it was a cold, flu or Covid-19 are no longer effective indicators.
The classic Covid symptoms are a new and continuous cough, a fever or high temperature, and the loss of or change to smell or taste.
But the UK’s ZOE Covid study shows that, for some people, having Covid can feel "more like a bad cold" with symptoms like runny nose, headache, fatigue (either mild or severe), sneezing and sore throat.
The findings were published on its website on December 16.
While the UK has witnessed a surge in Covid cases in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US has already found that Omicron established itself as the dominating variant in the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Omicron variant has been detected in around 90 countries although most of the countries have identified imported cases.
Bangladesh also announced the presence of the variant in the country by identifying two imported cases on December 11. But since then, no new cases have been identified.
However, the number of patients rushing to hospitals with cold-related cases has risen sharply in recent days.
The health authorities could not provide any data over how many people have visited government facilities recently with a bad cold.
In Bangladesh, the authorities keep the record of cold-related cases from November 15 to March 15.
Contact with several hospitals has revealed that the number of outdoor patients with cold-related diseases has increased in recent days.
But doctors at the Covid units said that there were few patients with cold-like symptoms.
Assistant Professor of Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute Ashraful Haque, who is conducting research on Covid, opined that, alongside Covid patients, cold-like symptoms should be tested as well.
“The recent Covid variant has changed its character and patients develop flu-like symptoms. So the authorities should put emphasis on more Covid tests and increase facilities so that poor people learn more about it and get tested,” he added.
The academic, who is also in-charge of the vaccination centre of the institute, observed that people were more reluctant to take vaccines.
“They are not even registering to avail the service the government is providing for free. This situation needs to be changed in the interest of the safety of the people. It will help decrease the severity of the infection,” he added.
Confirming the rise of cold-related patients at the government-run hospitals, Dr Farid Hossain Miah, director (hospital) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said that they were not testing these patients for Covid right now.
“Although Omicron caused a surge in Covid cases in other parts of the world, the number of cases in the country remains low.
“However, we have enough testing kits. Once the disease control unit instructs us to examine these patients, we will do it at any moment,” he added.
Director (Disease Control) Dr Nazmul Islam could not be reached over the phone despite several attempts to contact him.