Could diarrhea and other gastrointestinal issues be the first signs of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19? Yes, at least according to one study published Thursday in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

The study, conducted by Chinese researchers, looked at data from 204 coronavirus patients in China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak. Of the 204 patients, 99 of them — about 48.5 percent — presented to the hospital with “with one or more digestive symptoms as their chief complaint,” namely diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal pain, per the study. 

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“Of these 99 patients, 92 developed respiratory symptoms along with digestive symptoms, and 7 presented with only digestive symptoms in the absence of respiratory symptoms. Among the 105 patients without digestive symptoms, 85 presented only with respiratory symptoms, and 20 neither had respiratory nor digestive symptoms …continued .
[Source: Fox News]