A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus linked to the Wuhan outbreak, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.
Coronavirus, which was first reported in Wuhan City, has since then spread all over mainland China and is now affecting 28 countries. With that, people needs to be aware of the coronavirus symptoms so that those who acquire it can get immediate cure.
This contagious disease is a member of the coronavirus family that scientists all over the world have yet to encounter. Like MERS and SARS Coronaviruses, COVID-19 also came from animals. The first reported cases were found to frequent the Huanan seafood market in the center of the Chinese city.
At the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, about 140 hospitalized patients were identified to have the typical pattern of symptoms associated with the virus that causes COVID-19. The majority of them, about 99% were experiencing fatigue and dry cough and have developed a high temperature. Moreover, one-third of the sample also reported muscle pain and difficulty in breathing.
About 80% of the new coronavirus cases are mild, said by the Chinese Center for Disease Control, with 15% of patients have severe cases, and 5% are critically ill. Recovery still depends on the patient's immune system since most of those who have died were already in poor health.
The symptoms of the disease have a typical pattern of progress. First, a patient experiences fever, fatigue, and dry cough, and some also report diarrhea one to two days before. The virus can also cause pneumonia but since this is viral pneumonia, using antibiotics is not much of a help.
On the fifth day, a patient may experience difficulty breathing especially older people and those with a preexisting health condition. On average, it takes about seven days before an infected person is admitted to a hospital, according to a study by Wuhan University.
Patients with severe cases will then develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARD) on the eighth day, an illness that causes a buildup of fluids in the lungs and can be fatal. If the symptoms worsen, the patient will be sent to the ICU on the tenth day. These patients experience more appetite loss and abdominal pain than those with a milder case.
Currently, COVID-19 has a fatality rate of 2%. But on average, patients were discharged from the hospital within 2 ½ weeks and are cured of the disease.
Other infected people may be asymptomatic for five or more days but once the symptoms appear, it can be similar to pneumonia. "Pneumonia is usually doesn't rapidly progress," Paras Lakhani a radiologist at Thomas Jefferson University said. She added, "Typically, most hospitals will treat with antibiotics and patients will stabilize and then start to get better."
Once a person who traveled from those affected areas or countries in the last 14 days who is experiencing cough or fever or shortness of breath, the UK Chief Medical officers advised them to stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if it is only mild.
As of February 22, China has recorded a total of 2,345 death cases from the Covid-19 outbreak and 76,288 people showed coronavirus symptoms in mainland China. While over 12,000 patients have already recovered.
Spreading to at least 28 countries, Japan has 607 cases which include the cruise ship who docked to Yokohama and has already recorded three deaths. On February 24, South Korea has reported 70 more coronavirus cases bringing a total tally of 833 cases and has become the largest national total outside mainland China. There have been also death reports of the disease in Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, Iran, and The Philippines.
The spread of Covid-19 in China is worrying but its development,and spread of the coronavirus symptoms is unexpected. The World Health Organization has declared it an international concern of an outbreak to a public health emergency. Its key issues include how transmissible and what proportion become severely ill that ends up in a hospital. Overall, the most likely to have the harder case of the disease is between the older people and children.
