Coronavirus: Aussie nurse's unusual symptom

We know that symptoms of coronavirus include fever, a dry cough, headaches, sore throat and shortness of breath among others recognised by the World Health Organisation.

But a Queensland nurse had a much less common symptom, which led him to believe he may have COVID-19. After being tested, he found out he was correct.

The nurse was suffering from abdominal pain, which made him wonder if he may have been infected.

Queensland’s Deputy Premier and Health Minister Steven Miles told reporters on Wednesday: "He identified he had abdominal pain, not normally considered a symptom of COVID-19, but he was incredibly wise and he identified that that was a symptom that could be from COVID-19.

"He went and got tested and that test came back positive."

While abdominal pain isn't a common symptom people have been warned about, a study by the Royal College of Physicians found that a number of patients in France presented in hospital with acute abdominal pain and later tested positive for coronavirus.

With one of those patients, the pain was associated with nausea and diarrhoea, which are both less common symptoms.

Another study published in The Lancet earlier this year reported on eight children in the UK who tested positive for the virus, had "symptoms of atypical appendicitis".

"We draw attention to COVID-19 presenting in paediatric patients with primary symptoms of fever and abdominal pain, which might be mistaken for appendicitis," the researchers wrote.

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"All patients presented with a combination of symptoms including fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting."

According to the World Health Organisation, these are the symptoms you should be aware of:

Most common symptoms

Fever

Dry cough

Tiredness

Less common symptoms

Aches and pains

Sore throat

Diarrhoea

Conjunctivitis

Headache

Loss of taste or smell

A rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes

Serious symptoms

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

Chest pain or pressure

loss of speech or movement

If you have serious symptoms you should immediately seek medical attention.

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