This winter people across Bristol and the country have been reporting prolonged bouts of severe Covid-like symptoms despite testing negative for the virus. Dubbed the "worst winter lurgy ever", some of the symptoms reported anecdotally are coughs, headaches, blocked noses and sore throats.
The Telegraph recently reported that in the UK, more working days are currently being lost to flu, coughs and cold-related infections than Covid-19. Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia and adviser to the World Health Organisation, told the newspaper: “On average, many infections are probably more severe than normal because of waning protection against severe disease.”
However, he cautioned against alarm, saying, “But the three-year total is probably not any higher; it’s just that they are concentrated in the recent past.” In response to a post on the BristolLive Facebook page about the prevalence of 'winter 'lurgy' that feels like Covid but isn't', many Bristolians have described being similarly struck down by respiratory infections recently.
