Most people are aware of the common symptoms of COVID-19. But since the start of the pandemic, a number of lesser-known side effects have continued to emerge. According to some health experts, this can include an unusual warning change in the toes.
Although the World Health Organisation officially announced that the Covid outbreak was no longer considered a public health emergency in 2023, the virus has not gone away. And a number of new variants and subvariants of coronavirus have recently sparked concern across the globe. FLiRT strains KP2 and JN1 have been blamed for a recent increase in cases and health authorities are also tracking two additional variants, branded FLuQE and de-FLiRT.
These have been linked to a surge of cases in Australia , where Covid has become the third leading cause of death for the first time in 50 years due to an infectious disease. The FLuQE variant is also rapidly spreading in the US, while the UK has seen a 12 percent rise in Covid cases in the most recent week, as reported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Some UK hospitals have reinstated mask mandates as a result.
Commenting on the FLuQE variant, also known as KP.3, Adrian Esterman - a biostatistician from the University of South Australia - told SBS News : "KP.3 is already dominating in the US, and rapidly increasing in Australia.
" Professor Paul Griffin, an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist from the University of Queensland, added: "We're sicker than usual th.
